After two weekends of World Cup competition packed with record-breaking performances, the window for skaters to earn Olympic quota spots is half closed.

The five-leg 2025-26 circuit continues Dec. 5-7 with a stop in Heerenveen, Netherlands, giving the Dutch — who hold top-five rankings in each of the 13 events except for the men's long distances (which are led by American Casey Dawson) — the home ice advantage. Skaters only may secure Olympic quota spots through the first four World Cups.

At the second stop in Calgary, the Netherlands collected at least one medal in every event except the second men's 500m, the men's 5000m, and the men's mass start. On the women's side, the country swept the podium twice: the 500m (2) and the 1000m. They owned the first-four spots in the 1000m and the first five in the 500m.

The rivalry between Dutch skater Jenning de Boo and the United States' Jordan Stolz remained as strong as ever through World Cups No. 1 and 2, but after the first two weeks of competition, sprint king Stolz sits atop the rankings in each of his three signature events. 

The 21-year-old phenom has topped the podium six times so far this season, more than any other skater in the men's or women's competitions (though the Netherlands' Femke Kok closely follows behind with five individual golds). He also has emerged as a top contender in the mass start, an event in which he last competed at the 2023 Junior World Championships. After finishing 15th in the season's first race, Stolz jumped 12 spots to 3rd place in Calgary, earning his first-ever World Cup medal in the distance after just two attempts.

With two top-three finishes in each of his three distances, Stolz has met the Olympic qualifying criteria. However, he still will be required to compete at U.S. Olympic Trials in January in order to remain eligible to compete in Milan Cortina.

De Boo sits just behind him in two of the events, ranking 3rd in the 500m and 2nd in the 1000m. Dutch teammate Joep Wennemars also is in the mix, sitting 4th in the 1000m and 5th in the 1500m.

Dawson's rise to the top of the 5000m pyramid has been precipitous, and he shows no signs of slowing down. In the last year, the 25-year-old has broken the U.S. record in the distance three times (including once at each of the first two World Cups). In Calgary, he skated to his first-ever individual World Cup podium, claiming gold by just 0.02 seconds.

Dawson also competes in the men's team pursuit with Emery Lehman and Ethan Cepuran, a seemingly-unbeatable trio which opened its Olympic campaign with two World Cup golds — both of which were won by a 2.7-second margin — and a second-straight world record.

The American women will look for similar success in Heerenveen. Erin Jackson, currently the World No. 2 in her signature 500m behind Kok, still is searching for her first gold medal in the distance this season after collecting two silvers and one bronze between World Cups No. 1 and 2.

Brittany Bowe skated to her first individual podium finish of the season, third in the 1500m in Calgary, also lifting the women's team pursuit squad to two national records and one bronze medal across the first two World Cups. She has yet to make the podium in her other individual specialty, the 1000m, in which she holds the world record. 

Mia Manganello could make a third-straight podium in the mass start, building on a personal-best season marked by one gold (her first indivdually on the World Cup level) and one bronze in the event so far.

Like Stolz, Jackson and Manganello also have qualified for their respective events at the 2026 Olympics.

Three events will make their season debuts in Heerenveen: the women's 5000m, the men's 10,000m, and the team sprints.

The team sprints, which are not Olympic events, begin similarly to the team pursuits: two teams of three skaters race around the ice at the same time. However, skaters only race three laps around the track as opposed to eight in the men's team pursuit and six in the women's. Additionally, while all-three skaters begin the race together, only one crosses the finish line. The leading skater exits the track after the first lap, leaving the middle skater to lead through the second lap. The third skater finishes the race alone.

Last season, the United States led the men's competition, earning gold twice and silver once. Poland came out on top of the women's competition (the United States finished in 7th).

Three women likely will dominate the women's 5000m event: Czechia's Martina Sablikova, who won 10-straight world titles in the distance between 2007 and 2019, as well as taking bronze at the 2022 Olympics; Italian skater and reigning world champion Francesca Lollobrigida; and Canada's Isabelle Weidemann, who skated to silver in Beijing. The Netherlands' Joy Beune also may be a strong contender, having earned the world title in the distance in 2024. Beune has been unstoppable in the longer distances this season, winning gold twice in both the 1500m and 3000m.  

Italy's Davide Ghiotto, the 2022 Olympic champion in the 10,000m and the two-time reigning world champion in the distance, broke the world record in the 10,000m at another World Cup stop in Calgary in January 2025. There, he became the first man to average sub-30-second laps throughout the entire 25-lap race. At the same event, Dawson shattered a 20-year-old national record in the distance, shaving almost 10 seconds off Chad Hedrick's mark from 2005.

The three-day competition begins Friday, December 5 at 12:55 p.m. ET and concludes Sunday, December 7.

All events are available to watch on mobile, tablet and connected TV devices via Peacock.