Jordan Stolz added another title to his breakout Olympics, winning gold in the men’s speed skating 500m event. Fresh off becoming the first American ever to win gold in the men’s 1000m event, the 21‑year‑old star returned to the oval Saturday with the same command that stunned the field e arlier in the week. His historic victory in the 1000m, a breakthrough that instantly elevated him to the forefront of Team USA’s Winter Olympics campaign, now appears to be just the beginning. Stolz finished the 500 in an Olympic-record time of 33.77 seconds, after also setting a Games mark in his win in the 1,000 on Wednesday. Both times, the silver went to Jenning do Boo of the Netherlands, who clocked 33.88 in the shortest speedskating event. Both times, they raced head-to-head in the same heat. Stolz was leading on Wednesday as they came out of the final curve, then they were even entering the last stretch. But Stolz, who overcame a deficit in the 1,000, turned on the speed and leaned across the line first again in the 500. De Boo slipped and fell into the wall afterward, while Stolz skated past and shook his right fist overhead. Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil got the bronze in 34.26. The last American to win Olympic gold in the men’s 500 was Casey FitzRandolph in 2002. The soft-spoken Stolz acknowledges that, yes, his aims are high, and, sure, he is flattered by the comparisons to Heiden. But Stolz, who isn’t entered in the 5,000 or 10,000 in Milan, also knows he isn’t trying to recreate the same sort of unprecedented and all-encompassing performance turned in by Heiden. Still, Stolz does have a real shot at the four medals, maybe even four golds, he is seeking at his second Winter Games. At Beijing in 2022, just 17 years old, Stolz finished 13th in the 1,000 and 14th in the 500. In the time since, though, he has established himself as the best in the world at his sport, including two world titles each at the 500, the 1,000 and the 1,500. And right now, Stolz is so far living up to the outsized expectations and accompanying pressure that follow his every stride on the ice at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, a temporary facility created for this event. Two races, two golds, two Olympic records. Now there are two more to go for the six-time world champion: the 1,500 meters on Thursday, and the mass start on Feb. 21. The last man with three gold medals in speedskating at one Winter Games was Norway’s Johann Olav Koss, who won the 1,500, the 5,000 and the 10,000 at the 1994 Lillehammer Games Stolz took to the ice to warm up Saturday about 2 1/2 hours before his race. He paused at one point to plop himself down for a seat on the low boards along the ice, retying his black-and-green skates and smiling while chatting with his coach, Bob Corby. No sign of nerves. None at all. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less