MILAN — The spectacular Olympics of American Jordan Stolz ended on a bit of a down note Saturday, whereas his teammate Mia Manganello capped her speedskating career on a high.
Stolz, looking to become the first man in three decades to win three gold medals in long-track speedskating saw that dream disappear with a fourth-place finish in the unpredictable mass-start format.
The 21-year-old from Wisconsin had already won gold in the 500 and 1,000 meters, and a silver in the 1,500 heading into Saturday’s race.
“Two golds and a silver,” he said, “I have to be pretty happy with that.”
But in the mass start, 40-year-old Dutch skater Jorrit Bergsma surged well ahead of the pack before the midway point of the 16-lap race. He was joined in that robust lead by Denmark’s Viktor Hald Thorup.
The large cluster of skaters behind them held back, hoping the two leaders would run out of gas and drift back into the pack before the final sprint. However, Bergsma held onto the lead he built and became the oldest Olympic speedskating champion in history.
Stolz, who did not have an American teammate in the final to help him strategize, said the rest of the pack was reluctant to make a move on the leaders.
“The guys were chasing for a little bit, and then they kind of expected me to continue chasing,” he said. “If I would have done that for the amount they wanted me to, I would have had no legs at the end of the race.”
Jordan Stolz cools down after finishing fourth in the men’s mass start finale Saturday at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Instead, the pack held back and the two skaters in the lead widened the gap.
“At some point, everybody settled for third place,” Stolz said. “They didn’t think they could catch them.”
In retrospect, he said, he would have made a move on the leaders earlier had he known the pack was going to hang back.
“If I would have known they’d be reluctant to chase, I probably would have attacked a little more,” he said. “But if I did that, I wouldn’t have a chance at a medal.”
As it was, he was narrowly beaten out for bronze by Italy’s Andrea Giovannini.
In the women’s race, Manganello, in the final contest of her career, won bronze behind Dutch gold medalist Marijke Groenewoud and Canada’s Ivanie Blondin.
U.S. speedskater Mia Manganello celebrates after earning bronze in the women’s mass start Saturday at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Manganello was overwhelmed by the victory. She confirmed after the race that she plans to retire.
“Crossing the line as a medalist really solidified my career,” she said. “And this past season has been exceptional for me…
“It was a blessing to close it out with a medal.”
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