Womens Free Skate mention as Jordan Stolz takes 1500m silver behind Ning Zhongyan
Womens Free Skate appears elsewhere on the Olympic program, but the standout result in Milan on Thursday was Jordan Stolz taking silver in the 1500m after Ning Zhongyan skated an Olympic-record 1: 41. 98 — a result that underscored the difficulty of racing multiple events at a single Games.
Stolz edged off the top step by Ning’s 1: 41. 98
MILAN — Ning Zhongyan produced a nearly perfect 1500m at the Milano Speed Skating Arena, posting an Olympic record and a personal best of 1: 41. 98 that left Jordan Stolz looking up on the podium. Stolz finished with the silver medal after a race in which the ice proved exceptionally fast: by the 11th of 15 heats the Olympic record had already been lowered by Joep Wennemars, and three more skaters then went under the previous mark.
Stolz had entered the race as a heavy favorite based on recent form. He had won gold in the 1, 000-meter race and the 500m at these Games and had set Olympic records in each of those prior two races. Still, Ning’s sub-1: 42 skate caught him and much of the capacity crowd by surprise.
Womens Free Skate
Stolz said he had been attacking as hard as he could but that his legs weren’t there early in the race. His first lap was 25. 4 seconds — nearly six-tenths slower than Ning’s pace — and by the 700-meter mark he was more than a second behind. Stolz’s final lap clocked 27. 60, more than a half-second faster than Ning’s final lap, but it was not enough to erase the deficit.
Those splits helped Stolz leapfrog three other skaters to claim silver, but they gave him little immediate comfort on the podium. He leaned over the railing, visibly wrestling with disappointment as China’s anthem played and the Stars and Stripes flag hung lower than he had seen from that vantage.
Fast ice, big fields and the toll of multiple races
The race highlighted how grueling a schedule can be for athletes competing in multiple events during the Games. Stolz had dominated the 1500m on the World Cup circuit leading into the Olympics — he had won World Cups in all five of his races in the event this past season and 14 of his last 17 World Cup starts in the distance — but that recent dominance did not guarantee gold in Milan.
Stolz praised Ning after the race, saying it was probably the best race of Ning’s life. Joep Wennemars, who briefly held the Olympic record during the session, did not end up on the podium. Kjeld Nuis also beat Wennemars in the third-to-last heat but finished off the top spot as well. Stolz acknowledged he thought gold would have been nice, but he conceded Ning was simply better on the day.
The 1500m at the Milano Speed Skating Arena concluded with Ning’s Olympic-record performance and Stolz settling for silver, adding a complex chapter to a Games where Stolz had already set two Olympic records and claimed two gold medals.
Competition at the Milano Speed Skating Arena continued following the 1500m session, leaving athletes and fans to process a fast ice surface that reshaped the standings in several heats.
