Jenning de Boo, who took Olympic 500m and 1000m silver behind Jordan Stolz, beat Stolz in three of four races on Thursday and Friday to win the World Sprint Championships on home ice in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
De Boo skated the fastest times in the 500m and 1000m on Thursday and in the 500m on Friday at the famed Thialf arena.
“It’s the most beautiful speed skating weekend of my life,” de Boo said, according to the International Skating Union.
Stolz had the fastest 1000m later Friday, but it was not enough to overtake Stolz in the overall standings. The four results were combined to determine the world sprint champion.
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“It doesn’t feel horrible,” Stolz said. “I think there’s a reason why somebody wins and why somebody loses.
“How I peaked for the Olympics, now coming down to this, just wasn’t the best like leading up to here. I don’t know why.”
Olympic 500m gold medalist Femke Kok swept the four women’s races to make it a double Dutch victory.
Competition continue Saturday and Sunday with the World Allround Championships, live on Peacock.
Stolz is the only skater who competed in the sprint championships who is also expected to compete in allrounds, which typically favor more distance-oriented skaters, though Stolz is the defending allround champion from 2024.
For the men, allrounds include a 500m, 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m, combining results to determine the champion. The women race a 500m, 1500m, 3000m and 5000m.
“A little tired now, but we’ll see what I can do,” Stolz said.
