Damian Zurek (POL) had already come within one thousandth of a second of beating Jordan Stolz (USA) in Hamar last month, and in Inzell he finally managed to beat the American phenomenon and seize his career first World Cup victory. 

After having won the European title on home soil two weeks ago, the Polish sprinter clocked a track record time of 34.09s to beat Stolz by 0.17s.

Stolz struck back in the 1500m, leaving silver medalist Ning Zhongyan (CHN) 1.23s behind to maintain his undefeated record in the fifth and final race of the season and take home the Trophy in the distance.  

Zurek's gold a long time coming

Zurek skated against Jenning de Boo (NED) in the final pairing of the 500m. In the race before him, Stolz had skated 36.26s, which was 0.16s off his own track record. Stolz' pair-mate Wataru Morishige (JPN) crashed in the second inner corner.

Damian Zurek (POL) clocked a track record to beat Jordan Stolz (USA) and win his first World Cup gold medal © ISU

Zurek also started outside, so he had to take on that same second inner. 

"I was a bit afraid because Morishige crashed, but I went for it and I'm really happy with my shape building up to the Olympics," he said.

Zurek's career first World Cup win has been a long time coming, with three second places this season already. He felt that the timing was perfect.

"I've built it up over the whole season and over four years since the last Olympic Games. I'm building every World Cup and now I'm really looking forward to [the Olympic Games in] Milan."

Coming in second, Stolz did secure the 500m World Cup Trophy with one race to go on Sunday.

Zurek, who still has to defend his second place against De Boo, didn't care. 

"I don't know the numbers. I just want to go for every single race. The trophy is not really big for me, I've got bigger goals and I’ll focus on that."

Jordan Stolz (USA, left) secured the 500m World Cup Trophy with second place, Marten Liiv (EST) winning his first World Cup medal of the season with bronze © ISU

Jordan Stolz (USA) was not too bothered to come second behind Zurek.

"The 500m felt good. I've been training a lot of volume lately and it didn't affect my top-end speed too much, although I still think I can improve a little,” he said.

Just 0.03s behind Stolz, Marten Liiv (EST) picked up his first World Cup medal of the season. He had already shown good form in taking 1000m bronze at the European Championships in Poland two weeks ago.

"I actually feel better than in Poland", he said. "Before Poland, I was a little bit sick, and I'm fully recovered now. Today was just brilliant.

"I'm feeling good and I even think I may even get better in Milan. 

“Before the season I was hoping to be able to fight for a medal in the 1000m and now I'm on the podium in the 500m. That's really unexpected, so in Milan, if the race goes well, anything is possible."

Stolz makes amends in 1500m

After his 500m silver, Stolz hammered out an unmatched 1500m in a time of 1 minute 41.95s, just 0.17s short of his own track record.

Before Stolz set his time in the penultimate paring, Ning Zhongyan (CHN) had clocked 1:43.18. The American was 0.37s faster at the 700m split, added another 0.10s to his margin at the 1100m split, only to deal the definite uppercut with a 27.57s final lap, which was 0.76s faster than Ning in his last lap.

Stolz made amends by winning his fifth 1500m in five World Cup races to secure his second Trophy of the day © ISU

"I gave it my all in that final lap," said Stolz, who seemed to have held back a little in the beginning.

Ning felt that he could have been closer to Stolz. 

"I'm happy with my time, but I had quite a big mis-stroke in one of the corners,” he admitted.

“I was happy that I didn’t crash, so in the end, I'm pleased with the result."

The Chinese skater was hesitant to speculate about his medal chances at the Olympic Games in Milan. 

"I don’t want to say anything about that," he said with a big smile. 

Ning Zhongyan (CHN, left) overcame an early stumble to take silver, Kjeld Nuis (NED, right) picking up bronze © ISU

In the World Cup ranking, Ning ended up third behind Kjeld Nuis (NED) and the unbeatable Stolz. The Dutch Olympic Champion took bronze in the last race in a time of 1 minute and 43.81s.

"I'm really proud to defend that second place in the ranking successfully," Nuis said.

"The way I raced, was a sign of courage. This was my fastest opener ever. Except for my World Record race [in Salt Lake City in 2019] I never opened 23.05. 

“To be able to open that fast… of course I pay for that later in the race but still, I'm on the podium with an American phenomenon and a very strong Ning. This is what it is. 

“Have you seen Stolz skate? There's only one man who can do that and that's him. What else can I do?"

Whereas other skaters said that the races in Inzell were mere preparation for the Olympic Games and that the World Cup ranking didn't mean much to them, for Nuis, coming in second in the World Cup ranking was a big deal.

"So why would you come here and skate? It's the reason you travel the world all your life. 

“People who say that it's not important and that they don’t have to be good here… bullsh*t. Everyone wants to be good at the final test. 

“You want to show your best and if it doesn’t go smoothly, it's a blow to your confidence. 

“That's what skating is all about. It’s a constant quest for confidence."