Jordan Stolz officially has defended his title as sprint king.

On the final day of the Inzell World Cup, the 21-year-old skated to his eighth 500m medal of the season, securing his second-straight World Cup title in the distance as the 2025-26 World Cup came to a close. 

Stolz began the weekend in Inzell with his fifth gold medals of the season in the 1000m and 1500m, claiming his second title in two seasons in both distances. He also had all but locked up his 500m crown, but the competition brought one final race in the distance.

In his last race before the 2026 Olympics, Stolz finished 2nd behind Poland's Damian Zurek, who for the second time this weekend set a track record in the 500m. 

Zurek skated his first 500m race of the weekend in 34.09 seconds, securing his first gold medal of the season and outpacing the track record Stolz set in March 2024 just by one one-hundredth of a second. Stolz finished 0.17 seconds behind him.

Zurek then shaved 0.03 seconds off the mark, beating Stolz to the finish line once again by an almost-indiscernible 0.04 seconds.

Later in the day, U.S. teammate Mia Manganello secured her first career season title in the mass start, and the U.S. men's team sprint trio clinched its third in three years with a track-record time.

Manganello, who plans to retire at the end of this season, entered the weekend as the event's top-ranked skater, holding a slim 13-point lead over Dutch skater and reigning World Cup champion Marijke Groenewoud. 

A last-minute push to the finish line in the race landed Manganello in 3rd place, just 0.01 second ahead of 4th-place Ivanie Blondin. Groenewoud won, but Manganello's podium finish gave her enough of a boost to maintain her edge. She finished one point ahead of Groenewoud in the overall standings.

Stolz, who added the men's mass start to his competitive program this season, elected not to race in the competition.

Conor McDermott-Mostowy, Cooper McLeod, and Zach Stoppelmoor raced around the oval in 1:17.61, snapping the former men's team sprint track record of 1:18.05. With the Netherlands' 3rd-place finish, the United States slipped into 1st-overall for the season title.

In January 2025, the U.S. team — skating with Austin Kleba instead of McDermott-Mostowy — shaved 0.19 seconds off the world record, becoming the first to crack 1:17 in the event. 

With a 4th-place finish in the women's competition, the United States' McKenzie Browne, Sarah Warren, and Chrysta Rands-Evans finished the season ranked 3rd overall.

With that, the 2025-26 World Cup circuit is concluded. Skaters will return to action at the Milan Cortina Olympics, which begin Feb. 6.

The speed skating competition at the Olympics will take place between Feb. 7 and Feb. 21.

Below are the full results of the final day of competition: