They say good things come in threes.

It's a common superstition: If two good things happen in rapid succession, a third is sure to follow. On Thursday, 21-year-old speed skater Jordan Stolz will look to prove that theory as he takes on the 1500m.

The sprint king has lived up to his title so far in Milan, racing to gold in Olympic record time in both the 1000m, his best distance, and the 500m, his weakest event. A win in the 1500m would make him the second-ever American athlete after Eric Heiden to collect three or more gold medals in any sport at a single Winter Games. Heiden, a fellow Wisconsinite, won gold in all five of his speed skating events at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.

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A two-time world champion and the two-time reigning World Cup champion in the distance, Stolz has won eight of the last nine 1500m races on the World Cup level. His one loss — a 5th-place finish Feb. 28, 2025 — came while he battled a lengthy bout of pneumonia and strep throat. Those ailments continued into the 2025 World Championships that March, though he still managed silver. 

Last season, at a World Cup event hosted by his home oval in Milwaukee, Stolz smashed his own sea-level world record in the distance. His margin of victory — 1.21 seconds over two-time defending Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis — was greater than the margin separating second place from seventh place.

Nuis stands as one of Stolz's biggest roadblocks in the 1500m. The 36-year-old Dutch skater, who owns the world and Olympic records, ended the 2025-26 World Cup circuit with four podium finishes in five total races (2 silver, 2 bronze) and a 2nd-place global ranking behind Stolz. Thursday's competition marks the final race of Nuis' career.

Stolz's personal best time of 1 minute, 40.48 seconds is just 0.31 seconds off Nuis' world record (1:40.17). 

The last American skater to win the event was Derek Parra in 2002. Shani Davis took silver in 2006 and 2010.

Also in the mix are German rising star Finn Sonnekalb and China's Ning Zhongyan. 

The 18-year-old Sonnekalb has been on a tear the last calendar year, collecting the junior world titles in the 1000m and 1500m and opening his first full season on the senior World Cup circuit with two 1500m podium finishes. In November, he snapped Stolz's junior world record in the 1500m.

Like Nuis, world No. 3 Ning ended the 2025-26 World Cup season with two silver medals and two bronzes in the 1500m. He claimed Olympic bronze in the 1000m Feb. 11.

Each of the five 1500m podiums on this year's World Cup comprised some combination of Stolz, Nuis, Sonnekalb, and Ning.

Americans Casey Dawson and Emery Lehman, who raced to silver in the men's team pursuit Tuesday, will also compete in Thursday's 1500m.