“I can’t believe it,” Jordan Stolz (USA) said. Nobody could. The 19-year-old American took .32 seconds off the world record to win the first of two 1000m races at the ISU World Cup at the fast Utah Olympic Oval on Friday. The gap between Stolz and the rest of the field was 1.60 seconds, with Ning Zhongyan (CHN) second and David Bosa (ITA) third. Chung Jae Won (KOR) brought the first day of the World Cup to a close by winning gold in the Mass Start, beating Bart Swings (BEL) and Bart Hoolwerf (NED) to the line in the final sprint.
Jordan Stolz recorded the fastest 1000m time in history on Friday at the World Cup in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Impossible, crazy, unbelievable
While Stolz broke the American record at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Salt Lake City last week, with a time of 1:06.27, the world record was something else. Only one man had ever skated under 1:06: Pavel Kulizhnikov (RUS), who set the world record of 1:05.69 at the Utah Olympic Oval in 2020.
Stolz knew Kulizhnikov’s lap times. The triple World Champion also knew that nothing is impossible when he puts on his skates.
Opening in 16.12 seconds, he was .05 seconds quicker than Kulizhnikov was in 2020. With a 24.1-second lap, he took another .03 seconds off Kulizhnikov’s time. But it was the final lap of 25.0 that really made the difference. Stolz looked up to the scoreboard in disbelief: one minute and 5.37 seconds.
“I knew I was going fast. I just wanted to be fast enough to maybe get close to the old record, but I didn't expect it to be 3/10ths.”
He analyzed his race afterwards.
“I knew I had to get a really fast first lap, and then I figured maybe I'm strong enough to hold the second lap.The second inner, I felt really comfortable. I felt like I really carried my speed, and I saw the 16.1 (opener) on the backstretch, and then the outer, I just attacked as hard as I could. And straightaway on the front stretch, I still felt like I had power. I just felt like I had power the entire race."
Stolz has set himself up for what could be a big weekend in Salt Lake City, with the 500m and 1500m on Saturday and the second 1000m on Sunday. He doesn’t expect to match Friday’s world record.
“On Sunday, I might be a little tired from the 500m and the 1500m, and I think the time I just did today is really tough to beat.”
Ning took silver in 1:06.97, while Bosa seized bronze in 1:07.06.
Jordan Stolz (center) shared the 1000m podium with Ning Zhongyan (left) and David Bosa in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
The Italian was shocked by Stolz’s performance.
“It’s impossible. It’s crazy. Jordan is very fast, unbelievable.”
Bosa hopes to be faster on Sunday.
“Today I expected to skate 1:07 and I got close, but the next race (on Sunday) I aim for the 1:06.50 or lower.”
Kjeld Nuis (NED), who won two 1000m World Cup races this season before having to skip the fourth World Cup in Tomaszów Mazowiecki due to illness, was not able to compete with Stolz on Friday. The Dutchman skated despite feeling ill in an attempt to hold on to second place in the World Cup standings, but he finished last in 1:15.16.
Ning retained his lead in the World Cup rankings, with Stolz climbing to second place and Nuis dropping to third.
Ning Zhongyan was pleased with his second-place finish in the 1000m race at the World Cup in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Chung best at high speed
Chung Jae Won finished the first day of the Salt Lake City World Cup with a blistering sprint after a chaotic race in the Mass Start.
Allan Dahl Johansson (NOR) and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu (CAN) crashed out of the race in the final two laps, but Chung was unaware of that, battling for first place with Swings and Hoolwerf.
Swings lacked the nerve and the speed to keep Chung behind him, while Hoolwerf had positioned himself awkwardly to threaten the Korean. Swings said he was content with silver.
“The speed was high today, it always is at this rink, and I was a little nervous about the corners. Chung has already skated here at the ISU Four Continents Championships last week and you could see how good his cornering was. I just lacked a little confidence at this speed in the corners.”
Chung Jae Won (center) took gold in the Mass Start ahead of Bart Swings (left) and Bart Hoolwerf in Salt Lake City, USA © ISU
Hoolwerf also mentioned the exceptional speed at the Utah Olympic Oval.
“Those corners, those speeds, I’ve actually never skated that fast before. The past week we mainly trained endurance and got used to the altitude, so my speed wasn’t optimal yet.”
By finishing third, Hoolwerf maintained his third-place standing in the World Cup rankings. He hopes to be able to fight for the Mass Start World Cup trophy at the final event next week in Quebec, Canada. Swings tops the standings ahead of Andrea Giovannini (ITA), who finished eighth on Friday.
Swings said he won't travel to Quebec for the final World Cup.
“I’ll stay in Salt Lake City to train at high speed and prepare for the World Championships (in Calgary Feb. 15-18)."
Giovannini was gutted about his race on Friday, but said he was looking forward to the final battle in Quebec.
“The race today was really chaotic. I lost the right moment and I didn’t have enough speed to return up front. It will be hard in Quebec, but everything can happen, so we’ll see.”
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ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series events 2023/24:
Nov 10-12, 2023 Obihiro /JPN
Nov 17-19, 2023 Beijing /CHN
Dec 01-03, 2023 Stavanger /NOR
Dec 08-10, 2023 Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
Jan 26-28, 2024 Salt Lake City /USA
Feb 02-04, 2024 Québec /CAN
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