Ning Zhongyan delivered the race of his life Thursday, winning the men’s 1500m speed skating title at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in an Olympic-record 1:41.98, according to Olympics.com .
Competing under the flag of the People’s Republic of China, Ning beat out U.S. powerhouse Jordan Stolz, who was the favorite to win going into the competition but settled for the silver in 1:42.75. The Netherlands’ veteran speed skater Kjeld Nuis claimed the bronze in 1:42.82.
What transpired was a record-breaking battle that saw four speed skaters eclipse the old Olympic record in the 1500m speed skating competition, with the three medal winners and the Netherlands’ Joep Wennemars crossing the finish line in that order. The performance of Ning was so impressive that his 1:41.98 shaved more than one second off the old mark of 1:43.21 set by Nuis in Beijing 2022.
Ning’s win was his third Olympic medal but his first gold in the 1500m speed skating competition in the Winter Games. The Chinese speedster had claimed the bronze in the 1000m speed skating competition and in the men’s team pursuit speed skating competition in his previous events in the Winter Games.
Speaking after his win, Ning said that he relied on his self-confidence as the standard in speed skating kept rising after the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.
Stolz, who had already claimed the gold in the 500m speed skating competition and in the 1000m speed skating competition in the Winter Games, said that he was surprised by the time put in by Ning but praised his “extraordinary” performance.
Stolz will be vying to win his second gold in the men’s mass start speed skating competition on Saturday.
Nuis has a decorated Olympic career, with gold medals in the 1500m and 1000m, and the bronze medal adds to it. He said that the podium result was a fitting end to his Olympic career after revealing on social media the day before that the 1500m would be his last race.
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