Jordan Stolz is speed skating’s rising star. He already broke Olympic records, but now he’s eyeing even more medals to add to his repertoire.

However, like most Olympians, he couldn’t have gotten to where he is now without the support of his parents. He and his sister Hannah were captivated by Apolo Ohno’s short-track skills during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and his parents gave them the go to try to pursue the sport.

That also meant learning the sport to teach the basics to their kids. “We wanted to teach the kids,” his mom told Silent Sports. “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.”

But with every sport, comes a fear. “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.”

So who are Jordan Stolz’s parents? Find out below.

Who is Jordan Stolz’s dad, Dirk?

Dirk Stolz works at their family’s taxidermy business, and used to work as a patrolman at the Washington County Sheriff’s Police department. Dirk met Jane at his business when she was just a customer. His job helps maintain their son’s career. “It is how we can pay for speedskating and hunting trips,” he told The New York Times. Their daughter, Hannah, is now a taxidermist who competes on a national level.

Dirk is originally from Germany and moved to the US when he was 9. His wife revealed that he was also a promising young athlete as a downhill skier and in track and field. “Dirk was a good athlete, but I really never competed,” Jane told Silent Sports.

Dirk and Jane exposed their children to outdoor living with frequent hunting trips to Alaska. He noted that one of his supervisors at his job at the Sheriff’s office threatened to report him to the Wisconsin child welfare agency for putting his children in danger in the Alaskan wilderness. But Dirk was very adamant that this was how they were going to raise their kids. “Don’t fear anything. Just go for it.”

“It’s how we raised him,” Dirk told NBC affiliate TMJ4. “We’re not showoffs or anything like that. Just kind of do our business and don’t brag. We’re not big braggers or anything, I guess.”

Who is Jordan Stolz’s mom, Jane?

Jane Stolz is a dental hygienist who also runs the taxidermy business with her husband. Jane has supported her son through the business and traveling around in a car to go to competitions.

In an interview with NBC News, Jordan also revealed that his mom helped raise deer and elk in the comfort of their own house, as a breeding business in which they would sell stock to others interested in populating their property with animals. In 2018, one of their deer was found to have chronic wasting disease, and 60 animals were ordered by the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to be depopulated. A 14-year-old Jordan and his father came home to blood on their driveway. “Jordan came home and saw that,” Jane told the publication. “He saw that.”

Jane prides herself on helping her son’s Olympic dreams come true by helping him with his diet. “I try to make sure Jordan is eating right and has everything he needs when he is at home competing. 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.”

Growing up, his parents balanced their diet thanks to their hunting excursions. “The freezer was always full,” he said, recalling that he probably ate hundreds of pounds of wild game and fresh fish. “And I think it’s healthy. I feel lucky to have had that [diet] available to me.”

The family didn’t attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of COVID-19. “It was very tough not being there. He would text me that he couldn’t get the right foods and protein he needed,” Jane recalled.

Now, all of his family is joining in for Milan. “A lot of their friends too, and some family members, they’ll all be there, which will be nice because in Beijing they didn’t really get that opportunity,” he told People. “I’m really happy that they’ll get to enjoy it and that’ll make me feel good going into the races that everybody’s having a good time,” he says.