MILWAUKEE — Speedskating spectators have just a few seconds to appreciate Jordan Stolz’s speed before the 17-year-old disappears to the opposite straightaway at Pettit National Ice Center.

The long track specialist from West Bend native recently set a junior world record, sprinting 500 meters in 34.52 seconds. He fell in love with the sport at the age of five while watching Apolo Ohno in the 2010 Vancouver Games. In January, Stolz has the opportunity to earn his place on the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in Beijing.

“I’ve always taken the sport pretty seriously, even when I was little,” Stolz said. “Now it’s like I can see the future a little bit.”

Stolz completes all schoolwork at home and spends at least 35 hours each week training at the Pettit Center. In 2020, he brought former U.S. Olympic speedskating coach Bob Corby out of retirement to prepare him for the junior world championships and the 2022 Olympic Trials. Corby, who ran a physical therapy practice for decades in the Milwaukee area, said Stolz shows potential only seen in legendary skaters like fellow Wisconsin natives Dan Jansen and Eric Heiden.

“To get back into coaching after I was out of it for so long, and to have such a talented kid, it’s so much fun to kind of share some of my knowledge and help him out a little bit,” Corby said.

The Pettit Center never has a shortage of athletes chasing their Olympic dreams. Stolz will be the local headliner competing in the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Long Track Jan. 5-9, but other Wisconsin skaters hope to make an impression on one of the sport’s biggest stages. Milwaukee native Jon Tobon’s best shot at an Olympic team could come in 2026, but the 17-year-old junior national team skater said racing in these trials is still a huge stride forward.

“At the moment, I train in my own little group here at the Pettit,” Tobon said. “But to reach the next level, I need to train with people who are faster than me.”

Tobon and Stolz both watched the 2018 trials at the Pettit Center and said stepping to the starting line as Olympic hopefuls may feel a bit surreal. If either or both does secure a spot on the long track team headed to Beijing, it would be a special celebration on home ice.