2023 ISU World Speedskating Championships Preview

Erin Jackson celebrates after posting the fastest time to win the women's 500-meter during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 13, 2022 in Beijing.

Just over a year has passed since Team USA's top speedskaters took to the global stage and competed at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Since then, several top contenders returned to action for the 2022-23 ISU World Cup Speed Skating season. After six stops each for the long and short-track squads, the 2023 world championships are just around the corner.

From March 2-5, the long-track team featuring the likes of Erin Jackson, Brittany Bowe, Jordan Stolz and McKenzie Browne will be competing in the Netherlands in the city of Heerenveen. Meanwhile, the short-track squad will have their world championships from March 10-12 in Seoul, South Korea.

For now, let's take a look at some of the long track squad's past year as they prepare for biggest speedskating event of the season.

Erin Jackson celebrates during the women's 500-meter medal ceremony during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 13, 2022 in Beijing.

On Feb. 13, 2022, Erin Jackson became the first Black woman to earn an individual gold medal in Olympic Winter Games history. Recently, she relived that moment with Team USA during Black History Month.

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) February 13, 2023

Erin Jackson competes during the women's 500-meter at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 13, 2022 in Beijing.

Fast Fact:

Erin Jackson has finished inside the top 10 in all six cup stops at the 500-meter distance, including three top-5 finishes. Additionally, she has begun competing the 1,000-meter this season.

Overall World Cup Standings:

3rd Place in the 500m
19th Place in the 1,000m
Best Finish:

3rd Place in the 500m in Calgary, Canada (37.35 seconds, 0.39 seconds behind first place)

Brittany Bowe celebrates with her bronze medal during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 18, 2022 in Beijing.

To kick off her year, US Speedskating veteran Brittany Bowe illustrated the true definition of being a teammate. At the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, teammate Erin Jackson slipped in her 500-meter race, and failed to make the original Olympic roster. However, Bowe, in a selfless act, gave Jackson her spot in the 500m, leading to her historic gold medal. After reallocation of quotas, Bowe was allowed to compete after all, but finished off the podium. However, she was ultimately rewarded with her first individual Olympic medal, a bronze in the 1,000.

Third #WinterOlympics, first individual Olympic medal.
It's a bronze for @BrittanyBowe in the women's 1000m! pic.twitter.com/epIlenYe1l

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) February 17, 2022

Brittany Bowe competes in the women's 1,000-meter during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 17, 2022 in Beijing.

Fast Facts: 
Brittany Bowe is a three-time Olympian, with her first Olympic appearance coming in the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014. Like Erin Jackson, Bowe grew up in Ocala, Florida. This season, Bowe did not compete in the first or second ISU World Cup stops. However, she has been dominant as of late in all three divisions she races (500m, 1,000m, and 1,500m). She has had a victory in both the 500 and 1,000 disciplines this season.

Overall World Cup Standings:

33rd in the 500m (raced only two of six events)
14th in the 1,000m (raced in four of six events)
21st in the 1,500m (raced in three of six events)

Best Finishes:

1st in the 500m at Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland (38.770 seconds)

1st in the 1,000m at Calgary, Canada (1:14.166)

2nd in the 1,500m at Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland (2:00.862)

Kimi Goetz prepares to race in the women's 500-meter during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 13, 2022 in Beijing.

2022 Olympian Kimi Goetz has enjoyed incredible success this world cup season, landing in the top 10 in all three of her disciplines (500m, 1,000m and 1,500m). The New Jersey native is expected to be a top contender at worlds, especially after grabbing her first career individual world cup gold medal in early February. Brittany Bowe also snagged a podium finish, and Goetz said it was an "honor" to share the stage with the veteran. Bowe also had some kind words of her own on Goetz's performance.

Kimi Goetz competes in the women's 1,000-meter during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 17, 2022 in Beijing.

Fast Facts:

Goetz has competed in 18 total races over her three disciplines throughout the 2022-23 world cup season. She has finished inside the top 10 in all but three of them, and has not finished worse than 12th. She resides in the top 10 in overall standings for all three disciplines, and has posted three consecutive top-5 finishes in the 1,000m.

Overall World Cup Standings:

5th in the 500m

3rd in the 1,000m

9th in the 1,500m

Best Finishes:

3rd in the 500m at Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland (38.11 seconds, 0.21 seconds behind first place)

1st in the 1,000m at Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland (1:16.004)

5th in the 1,500m at Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland (1:57.984)

McKenzie Browne competes in the women's 1,000-meter event during the 2022 U.S. Speedskating Long Track Olympic Trials on Jan. 6, 2022 in Milwaukee.

Although just missing out on an Olympic roster spot in 2022, McKenzie Browne has put together a solid 2022-23 season. She is a member of the women's sprint team alongside Erin Jackson and Kimi Goetz. The squad currently ranks first in the world cup standings and set a new American record at a world cup event this year. Additionally, the 500-meter speedskater appears to be peaking at the right time to be a top individual contender at the world championships. The Pennsylvania native finished fourth in the 500m Division B event at Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland earlier this February.

McKenzie Browne competes in the women's 500-meter event during the 2022 U.S. Speedskating Long Track Olympic Trials on Jan. 07, 2022 in Milwaukee.

Fast Facts:

This is McKenzie Browne's first season on the ISU World Cup Circuit. As a member of the women's sprint team, Browne has helped the squad finish first in two out of three races this season.
Overall World Cup Standings:

26th in the 500m

1st in the 500m women's team sprint

Best Finish:

4th place twice, most recently at Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland (39.582 seconds) 

Jordan Stolz competes in the men's 1000-meters during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Feb. 18, 2022 in Beijing.

On the men's side, 18-year-old 2022 Olympian Jordan Stolz is the top contender for Team USA. Competing in the 500m, 1000m, 1500m and even the long-distance category, Stolz has put on a show this year for US Speedskating. The Wisconsin native has picked up wins on both the senior and junior world cup circuit this year and sits in the top 5 in the overall standings. On Dec. 20, 2022, Stolz cleaned up in Calgary, securing three medals and setting two new records (junior world record and American record) in the 500.  

Jordan Stolz skates in a training session ahead of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on Jan. 31, 2022 in Beijing.

Fast Facts:

Jordan Stolz has collected six medals, over his past two senior world cup stops, two golds and four silvers. He has finished in the top 10 in 11 of his 13 senior world cup races this year, with nine finishes inside the top five.

Overall World Cup Standings

5th in the 500m (raced in four of six senior events)

3rd in the 1000m (raced in four of six senior events)

3rd in the 1500m (raced in four of six senior events)

Best Finishes:

2nd in the 500m twice, most recently at Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland (34.731 seconds)

1st in the 1000m at Calgary, Canada (1:06.729)

1st in the 1500m at Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland (1:45.443)

3rd in the 5000m World Junior Championships at Inzell, Germany (6:27.688)