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- Jordan Stolz dad: Dirk Stolz
- Jordan Stolz mom: Jane Stolz
- Where did Jordan Stolz train?
- Jordan Stolz sister: Hannah Stolz
- Jordan Stolz sister taxidermy
- Where is Jordan Stolz from?
At just 21 years old, Jordan Stolz has emerged as one of the biggest stars in speed skating.
From his gold medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, to becoming the youngest single distance world champion in history, Stolz has become one of the faces of Team USA since his 2022 Olympic debut.
Owning roots in Wisconsin, Stoltz began skating at 5 years old and has continued to ascend since. Along the way, he's been supported by his parents, Dirk and Jane, who have their own interesting background themselves.
Here's a breakdown of Jordan Stolz' family and background.
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Jordan Stolz parents
Here's what to know about Jordan Stolz' parents, Dirk and Jane Stolz.
Jordan Stolz dad: Dirk Stolz
Jordan Stolz' dad is Dirk Stolz. He is from Germany; according to Silent Sports Magazine, Dirk competed in downhill skiing in his youth, but when his family moved to the United States at age 9, he shifted his focus to track and field instead.
"Dirk was a good athlete, but I really never competed,” his wife, Jane Stolz, told Silent Sports Magazine.
Dirk moved to Wisconsin when he left Germany, the area where he would meet his future wife, Jane. Growing up, he hunted in Alaska with his father, per NBC Sports.
Dirk later became a Washington County deputy sheriff, and he had a taxidermy business in the basement of his house. Per Silent Sports Magazine, he decided to take the graveyard shift with the sheriff's department so he could be around for a long commute to Jordan's training sessions. He spent time working undercover drug operations, per NBC Sports, but Dirk retired in 2024 at age 55 after around 30 years in his profession.
With the taxidermy business, Dirk and Jane helped to cover the costs of Jordan's young speed skating career, per Sports Illustrated.
Dirk and Jane Stolz share their insight on what it was like to raise a future Olympian. 💪 pic.twitter.com/rpAngzYV9H
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) January 14, 2026MORE: Why do Olympic athletes bite their medals?
Jordan Stolz mom: Jane Stolz
Jordan Stolz' mom is Jane Stolz. She is a dental hygienist, and she home-schooled Jordan until he was 10 years old to help accommodate his skating schedule.
"We went to every single competition in the Midwest, 15 or 20 of them a year," Dirk told The New York Times in February 2022. "Trying to pull them out of school every Thursday or Friday was impossible, so no way you could do it being in public school."
Growing up, Jane Stolz, like her husband, enjoyed hunting, shooting squirrels, rabbits and more when she would visit family in the Dakotas at a young age, per NBC Sports.
Despite neither of them having much background in skating, Dirk and Jane guided Jordan and Hannah's interest in ice skating. Dirk cleared snow from their backyard pond and installed outdoor lighting so they could skate at night, per Silent Sports Magazine — and for a young Jordan, watching the Olympics with his parents was inspiration.
“We are outdoor people and never really watched TV,” Jane said. “I told Jordan and Hannah that we would watch the 2012 Olympics over the next couple of weeks. Jordan asked, 'What’s the Olympics?' Both kids were enthralled with short-track skating and some other events, but didn’t get figure skating. They all started skating in earnest; it was a family affair.
"We wanted to teach the kids. So Dirk and I had to learn how to skate. It was intimidating getting those huge, big blades on. It was very awkward, but we loved it from the start; you go so fast.”
Jane is still a major supporter in Jordan's career, from scheduling to other events.
"I try to make sure Jordan is eating right and has everything he needs when he is at home competing," she told Silent Sports Magazine. "It gets busy. People are calling and asking about tickets, and I’m often volunteering for the event. It’s pretty crazy. I don’t think about it in the moment."
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Where did Jordan Stolz train?
Jane Stolz previously told NBC News that she and Dirk allowed a young Jordan and his sister to skate on their property's frozen lake in Kewaskum, Wisconsin. Dirk also said Jordan and Hannah "were down there all the time" and “it was fun for them to go crashing into the snowbank,” to USA Today.
"I was always afraid they could drown. Dirk kept saying the ice was thick enough, but I was not willing to risk it," Jane told NBC News. "So they kept the life jackets on until he drilled a hole and we could see it was several feet thick. After that I finally felt okay, and in the next couple of days they were able to take them off."
Later on, Stolz started club skating at the Badger Speed Skating Club and the West Allis Speed Skating Club, which became the Wisconsin Speed Skating Club at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee.
“The Badger Club was so helpful in starting Jordan’s career with a warm family welcoming atmosphere. I knew this was the sport for us,” Dirk Stolz told Silent Sports Magazine.
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How did Jordan Stolz' parents meet?
Jordan Stolz' parents, Dirk and Jane, met in a taxidermy shop in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, NBC Sports reported in January 2026. When they met, Dirk was working at the taxidermy shop, and Jane had been a customer.
Working in the taxidermy business has carried into present day for the Stolz family, including Hannah Stolz.
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Jordan Stolz sister: Hannah Stolz
Jordan Stolz's sister is Hannah Stolz. She is one year older than Jordan.
Hannah Stolz, like her brother, competed in speed skating in her youth, but she decided to quit competition when she was 16, her mother told Silent Sports Magazine. Hannah found another interest that she's excelled at: taxidermy.
“Hannah quit competing at skating at age 16, but is driven in her own right,” Jane said. “She has won national and international competitions in bird taxidermy.”
According to Speed Skating News, Hannah Stolz had personal bests of 48.33 in the 500 meter and 1:38.87 in the 1000 meter during her speed skating career.
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Jordan Stolz sister taxidermy
Here's a look at Hannah Stolz's taxidermy career.
What is taxidermy?
Taxidermy is the art/science of preserving, cleaning and mounting animal skins into displays or other studies.
Animals are typically portrayed in their life-like state, and the profession often produces displays for museums or other educational purposes.
Windy Hills Waterfowl
Hannah Stolz runs Windy Hills Waterfowl in Wisconsin, a taxidermy business home to 85 bird species from around the world, according to its website.
The website also states that the business strives "to preserve and raise all of our species to their best potential," mostly waterfowl, with "over 15 different netted aviaries and 12 unique ponds."
Hannah also shares support for her brother through her taxidermy accounts:
Hannah Stolz taxidermy awards
In July 2023, Hannah won the National Taxidermy Championships, per the Washington County Insider.
In August 2024, she also competed in the World Taxidermy Championships, where she placed third "in the world for the non-game bird division," according to the Windy Hills Waterfowl website.
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Where is Jordan Stolz from?
Jordan Stolz is from Kewaskum, Wisconsin.
Per NBC Sports, Dirk and Jane raised their children on 65 acres in Kewaskum, which is 45 miles north of Milwaukee.
Although hunting and fishing were a big part of the Stolz family, NBC Sports previously reported that they also "raised deer and elk, mostly as a breeding business in which they would sell stock to others interested in populating their property with animals." Because of that, deer would roam their property "like house cats."
"It’s pretty cool having a tame deer walking in and out of your house,” Jordan told NBC Sports. “Not something everybody experiences, right?”
However, in the spring of 2018, per NBC Sports, one of the Stolz family's deer was found to have a chronic wasting disease, and the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) ordered that the Stolzes’ stock be “depopulated," which resulted in 44 deer and 16 elk on the Stolz farm being killed.
After growing up in rural Wisconsin, including long commutes to Milwaukee for skating, Stolz has since ascended to the Olympic stage as one of the stars in international speed skating.
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