HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands — Jordan Stolz, an 18-year-old American speedskater who is already one of the best in the sport, this weekend will race in front of 12,500 screaming Dutch fans at his first world speedskating championships.
Almost all of them will be rooting for him to lose.
The fans will be cheering for their countrymen, yes, but they will also be hoping that Stolz does not immediately make good on his potential to dominate the sport for the next decade. At these championships, Stolz is in Dutch territory, literally and figuratively.
Until this season, he had barely raced in front of crowds numbering more than a few dozen, owing to the coronavirus pandemic and speedskating’s lack of popularity in the United States.