American speedskaters Jordan Stolz and Erin Jackson’s Olympic journey’s both started in their respective happy places.
Stolz got his start on a frozen pond in his family’s backyard after being inspired by Apolo Ohno and Shani Davis’ performance at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, while Jackson’s need for speed traces back to racing up and down her family’s driveway in plastic skates attached to her shoes.
Now, Stolz, 21, and Jackson, 33, are in medal contention for the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, which begin Feb. 6. Stolz could become the first Olympic speedskater to win multiple medals at a single Winter Games in two decades. Jackson looks to defend her win in the 500m race at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, where she became the first Black woman to win an individual Winter Olympic gold medal.
‘My top goal would be to defend the gold medal in the 500 meter,’ Jackson told USA TODAY Sports.
Stolz added, ‘I would love to have the best races that I can possibly do. I think if I can do that, it should be a gold medal in there somewhere. And I think across the four events, I have a lot of chances.’
Stolz and Jackson spoke to USA TODAY Sports in December about preparation for the Winter Olympics through their partnership with Hershey’s “It’s Your Happy Place” campaign, which features U.S. Olympians and Paralympians, including ice hockey forward Hilary Knight, figure skater Jason Brown and para snowboarder Brenna Huckaby.
Questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: We’re all dying to know what is your favorite Hershey’s product and will you be adding any to your suitcase for Milana Cortina?
Stolz: My favorite Hershey’s product is the hot fudge because my mom uses it on the cheesecakes. I think she makes one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever had. And I really like it. Hershey’s Kisses are good, too.
Jackson: Definitely adding a bunch (of Hershey’s products) to my suitcase. When I was younger, my go-to was always the Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme candy bar. Now I would say it’s between Reese’s Pieces and the Reese’s Cups. We were just talking about maybe bringing a bunch of bags of the Hershey’s Kisses and having those in my skate bag and handing them out at practice.
Q: Jordan, is it ever crazy to think that you started skating on a frozen pond in your family’s backyard and now you’re on the verge of your second Olympic games? Can you just speak to that whirlwind journey that you’ve been on?
Stolz: Yeah, I mean, it is kind of crazy how that all began, because if I wouldn’t have been watching the (Winter Olympics on) TV in 2010 and watching Apolo Ohno on the short track, I might not have ever actually started speed skating. So just that little moment just progressed into something huge and who knows if it would’ve ever happened if I wasn’t watching the Games. Hopefully, I can bring a little bit of inspiration to some other kids’ life. Maybe they can see my story about skating on the pond and they can do the exact same thing.
Q: Jordan, how are you feeling heading into Milano Cortina, and do you feel like you’re hitting your stride right as the Olympics are approaching?
Stolz: I’ve had some really good races. The season’s probably been one of the best I’ve ever had. And coming back after pneumonia last year before the World Championships, I’m just in a way better spot right now. The summer was great. I was super motivated. Now it’s just time to train at home leading up to Milan. And I think it’s going to be really good.
Q: Erin, how did your passion for skating begin? Is it surreal to think that you’re about to make your third Olympic appearance less than a decade after transitioning to the ice full-time?
Jackson: I’ve been on skates as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories were having the little plastic skates that would attach over my shoes and then skating up and down my driveway in those. And as I got older, it morphed into being a rink rat, basically someone who hangs out at the open sessions at the local skating rink. From there, I progressed into being an inline speed skater. It’s the same thing I do now, expect it was on roller skates. This was back in Florida. Inline speed skating isn’t an Olympic sport, so a lot of the skaters transition over to ice. I made that transition a little later in life because I wanted to graduate college first. I’ve been skating my whole life.
Q: Erin, you’ve been candid about dealing with some injuries in the off season, including some herniated discs in your lower back. How are you feeling now and how has recovery been for you?
Jackson: Starting this summer, I started working a bit more closely with the USOPC and their National Medical Network. They’re able to help me get different forms of treatment and it’s been going really well. I’m really happy with the way that’s progressing. I haven’t put in as much training over the summer with all the time off from the different treatments I’ve been doing, but the training I’ve been doing, I’ve been really intentional with it and making sure to put in the time when I can. Training has been a lot less of high intensity and more of the really safe things. I bought an elliptical. I’ve been doing a lot of elliptical training and I’ve been doing some aqua jogging, so it’s definitely been different. But yeah, I just really pushing through despite the injuries and just training smarter.
Q: How has the preparation been this time around, compared to your first Winter Olympics? Are you more relaxed knowing what to expect or are there still nerves?
Stolz: I would say I’m more relaxed knowing what to expect. I mean, I’m not too worried about outside interference. Before it was, I didn’t have that much experience. It was my first season actually traveling and then going to Beijing (in 2022), whereas locked down and stuff. And the eating situation wasn’t that great. And now I expect, because it’s in Italy, it’ll be good. I’ve had the last three years of traveling to multiple World Cups to prepare for this. I don’t think there’s too many outside factors that could prevent me from racing while it’s going to be up to me when I go to the starting line.
Jackson: It’s been fun going into the Olympics from three different parts of my life. In 2018, I was super new to the sport and I was just happy to be there. I didn’t have any expectations on my performance or anything. And then in 2022, going in ranked No. 1 in the world and coming home with a gold medal was just a surreal moment in itself. I kept thinking like, ‘Oh, someone pinched me. I’ll wake up from this.’ And then now coming in as the defending champion, it’s a whole different aspect. Each time it’s just been really amazing.
Q: What do you do to take a moment to relax and get your mind off a competition?
Stolz: I have some good people supporting me, like Hershey’s themselves. To get my mind off the competition, I’m just playing on the phone watching Reels. But yeah, it’s just something to numb your mind a bit because skating’s more of a sport where you don’t really know what could happen and there’s a lot of muscle memory involved in it, so there’s a little bit of pressure involved. But going into Milan, I think I have some good wins under my belt this season and I’m feeling good about it.
Q: When you are standing at the starting line ahead of a race, what is running through your head? Do you have any mantras or any rituals to help you lock in ahead of a race?
Stolz: Not necessarily. It’s more so focused on just executing the race properly, their turns and feeling good on the ice. Good technique, it’s more so you want to be really focused on that and on yourself, how you’re feeling. So I try not to have, obviously listening to music is good, but outside distractions, you don’t really want that. You just want to be really focused. And I feel like I’ve gotten better at that. And not being nervous. If you’re nervous, it kind of affects your race, kind of like how you’re feeling. Mentally can also play an impact on it. So you don’t want to be fired up and have a lot of caffeine in you, and then trip on the starting line or something. So you also want to be calm, but put a lot of power down into the ice.
Jackson: I’m a little bit different where I’m a bit more relaxed naturally going into an event. And in 2022, I had this really calm confidence where I went to the line and I was like, ‘All I have to do is skate the way that I’ve trained and I should come away with my dreams and my goals.’ So yeah, going in this time, I’ve got that same kind of relaxed attitude. I can be relaxed knowing that I’ll do the best that I can and hopefully that I’ll get me on the podium or I’ll go into it knowing that I haven’t done everything I can. And even in that moment, there’s nothing I can do in that situation to kind of change where I am. So yeah, either way I’m going to go into it really calm and relaxed and just super confident.
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