When you see Jordan Stolz training on the ice, you'll likely spot his coach, Bob Corby, nearby. Corby once harbored his own Olympic aspirations as a young speedskater, but those dreams never materialized.
"Yeah, I was okay. I mean I was always the guy right below the guy who was world class guy and right above the people who weren't very good. So I never knew if I was the worst world-class guy or the best sucker," Corby said.
Corby wasn't a "sucker" by any measure. At one point in his skating career, he ranked in the top 10 in the United States. However, he never made it onto an Olympic team, so he hung up his skates and turned to coaching.
He coached the 1984 Olympics team that featured Dan Jansen and Bonnie Blair. Despite the talent on his roster, the team returned home without medals.
Watch: Jordan Stolz's coach carries Olympic dreams from past disappointment to future gold
"What I remember most is that we didn't get a medal and that was a tough pill to swallow," Corby said about those Winter Games.
The disappointment weighed heavily on him.
"It bothered me a lot. I felt like I had failed not to come home without at least one medal with those three talented skaters," Corby said.
That experience became a learning opportunity that now benefits Stolz.
"So I spent a couple of years looking back at the training program. Did I make a mistake? Did I do something wrong, and in that analysis of the training program, I came to the conclusion that if I had this to do over again, I would do more of this and this and weights. Less of this and this, so Jordan is now benefiting from that analysis," Corby said.
The pressure of coaching an Olympic hopeful isn't lost on Corby.
"Yes, I feel it. It's something that you have to deal with. It's just this mild pressure from the beginning of the summer. Okay, it's the Olympic year, and it's really important to this kid. It's really important to the United States Speedskating. Everything has to be right. Everything has to be well thought out and planned right," Corby said.
His expectations for Stolz are clear and confident.
"We're going to win gold medals," Corby said. "He's been the best skater in the world on three distances, 500, 1000, and 1,500 for the last three years, so we're going to win those three races."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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