Winter Olympics: Jordan Stolz misses podium in chaotic mass start
· Yahoo Sports
MILAN — Jordan Stolz was unable to add to his medal haul in his final race at these Olympics.
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The American speedskating phenom came up empty in Saturday’s mass start, settling for fourth place in the most chaotic, unpredictable race in his sport.
Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands took gold and Viktor Hald Thorup of Denmark grabbed silver after they broke away from the pack in the opening laps of the race and built an advantage of as much as 20-plus seconds. Stolz and Italy’s Andrea Giovannini sprinted for third place, but the Italian was able to edge Stolz at the finish line.
Had he won Saturday’s mass start event, Stolz would have become the first man since Norway’s Johann Olav Koss 32 years ago to leave an Olympics with three long-track speedskating gold medals. Entering the mass start, Stolz had already taken gold in the 500 and 1,000 meters before settling for silver in the 1,500.
Whereas long-track speedskaters are accustomed to racing against the clock, unencumbered by other competitors in their lane, the mass start is the outlier. The sixteen athletes who qualified for Sunday’s men’s final started shoulder-to-shoulder and raced head-to-head for 16 laps around Milan’s 400-meter oval.
Race strategy during the mass start is most similar to a cycling track or road race. Athletes conserve energy early in the race and draft off each other to reduce wind resistance, but they must be prepared to unleash a lethal finishing sprint over the final lap or two to have any hope of winning a medal.
When asked to look ahead to the mass start earlier this week, Stolz acknowledged the threat of getting taken out by another competitor jockeying for position around a turn. He said he hoped to “try and defend myself in the group” because “there will be a lot of shoving.”
Winning three medals on an Olympic stage is Stolz’s most remarkable accomplishment yet on a journey that began with watching the charismatic Apolo Anton Ohno at the Vancouver Games 16 years ago. Stolz has chased Olympic glory ever since, going from learning to skate on his family’s backyard pond at age 5, to winning his first U.S. title at 16, to snapping at the heels of the world’s fastest speedskaters soon after that.