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Olympics Jordan Stolz became the first American to win gold in the 500m since Joey Cheek 20 years ago. Andreas Rentz / Getty Images MILAN — When the United States badly needed a Winter Olympic hero, speedskater Jordan Stolz delivered. The 21-year-old phenom won his second gold medal Saturday at the Milano Speed Skating Arena, in a chaotic, closely contested 500-meter race that solidified Stolz’s place in Olympic lore. Stolz shattered another Olympic record, going 33. 77, 12 hundredths of a second off his personal best, in an event considered to be his weakest entering these Games. Advertisement A night removed from a disastrous men’s figure skating outing for the United States in which heavy favorite Ilia Malinin finished eighth, in a Winter Olympics in which injury (Lindsey Vonn, Chloe Kim) and underperformance (Malinin and skier Mikaela Shiffrin) have taken center stage, Stolz gave Americans something to feel good about. A quiet, mild-mannered Wisconsin native, Stolz became the first American to win gold in the 500m since Joey Cheek 20 years ago. He edged Netherlands heatmate Jenning de Boo, whom Stolz also beat in the 1, 000-meter race on Wednesday, by 0. 11 seconds. Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil took home bronze with 34. 26. Stolz, who will compete in two more events, is vying to get close to Eric Heiden, who won five gold medals for the United States in 1980. He also set an Olympic record Wednesday in the 1, 000-meter race with a thrilling come-from-behind finish of 1: 06. 28. Stolz made it clear then that he wasn’t pacing, he was going hard from the start before doing what he does better than anyone else: finding one more gear. In the 500, Stolz’s least consistent event of three sprint distances, there’s no time for an extra kick. For him to win, Stolz couldn’t lose the first 100 meters. And while the seven-time world champion held his own at the start, needing 9. 55 seconds, it was once again the end of the race that set Stolz apart from the rest of the field. He needed just 24. 22 seconds to complete the final lap, the fastest split time of the day, to leapfrog the competition. The stoic Stolz raised his arms overhead at the finish, but did little else to celebrate. He still had to wait for Poland’s Damian Zurek, who had beaten Stolz in the last two World Cup races in this distance. Zurek, the second-to-last heat, finished in 34. 35. Just off the podium. The last pair couldn’t touch Stolz either, sending the crowd into celebration. Advertisement While Saturday’s crowd was Dutch-heavy, Stolz skates professionally in the Netherlands. He celebrated his 1000m win with an American flag on his back and with a multi-colored helmet he often dons in the Netherlands after a big win. Stolz is so famous in the Netherlands he once got out of a parking ticket. If the Dutch weren’t so respectful, he would be mobbed on the street. Everyone knows who Stolz is in the Netherlands. They’re finally starting to in Stolz’s home country. And Stolz himself wants to echo the dominance that Heiden attained in 1980. “He’s a race horse, ” Heiden said of Stolz. “He goes to the line, and he just wants to race and see his ability. He doesn’t have a lot of concerns about what other people are doing. ” Stolz started skating when he saw Apolo Ohno and Shani Davis at the 2010 Winter Olympics, getting his dad, Dirk, to let him and sister Hannah skate on the family’s lake. Stolz was just five years old. The following year, he joined a speedskating club. Stolz would beg Dirk to plow off a clean circle on their lake so he could practice his crossovers well into the night. I’m going to figure it out, was his constant mantra. Once when Jordan was sick, Dirk found his son watching Pavel Kulizhnikov’s world-record performance on an i Pad, trying to figure out how to beat him. Jordan was 12. That’s when Dirk knew his son could have a real future in this sport. “He’s got in the head, right? ” Dirk said after Jordan won the 1, 000m Wednesday. “You got the gift of physical ability and mental ability. Put the two together and that’s him. ” The Americans Cooper Mc Leod (34. 90) and Zach Stoppelmoor (35. 43) finished 22nd and 27th in their first Olympics. Mc Leod finished 19th in his debut event, the 100m, on Wednesday. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Brittany Ghiroli is a senior writer for The Athletic covering MLB. She spent two years on the Washington Nationals beat for The Athletic and, before that, a decade with MLB. com, including nine years on the Orioles beat and brief stints in Tampa Bay (’08) and New York (’09). She was Baltimore Magazine’s “Best Reporter” in 2014 and D. C. Sportswriter of the Year in 2019. She’s a proud Michigan State graduate. Follow Brittany on Twitter @Britt_Ghiroli