MILWAUKEE, WI — No matter what he did at the Olympic trials, Jordan Stolz was assured of going to the Milano Cortina Games.
A stumble in his best event, the 1,000 meters, was a reminder of why that is. And why it's a good thing.
Stolz qualified for the 1,000 meters, one of four individual events in which he'll be favored to win gold, with a third-place finish Saturday. But in a sport where quota limits sometimes require countries to make hard choices, it was eerily reminiscent of the scenario four years ago that nearly kept Erin Jackson out of the 500 meters, the distance where she would win Olympic gold.
"Jordan's a really awesome skater, so I'm really glad he was protected in that moment," said Jackson, who will race both the 500 and 1,000 meters in Milano Cortina afterwinning the latter distanceearlier Saturday.
"He still ended up getting third, but yeah, it's nice to have those protections," Jackson added. "We want to have our medal contenders out contending for medals at the Games."
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