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Speed skating at the Winter Olympics

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Speed skating at the Winter Olympics
IOC CodeSSK
Governing bodyISU
Events14 (men: 7; women: 7)
Winter Olympics

Long track speed skating has been featured as a sport in the Winter Olympics since the first winter games in 1924. Women's events were added to the Olympic program for the first time in 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics.

Summary

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Games Year Events Best Nation
1 1924 5  Finland (1)
2 1928 4  Norway (1)
3 1932 4  United States (1)
4 1936 4  Norway (2)
5 1948 4  Norway (3)
6 1952 4  Norway (4)
7 1956 4  Soviet Union (1)
8 1960 8  Soviet Union (2)
9 1964 8  Soviet Union (3)
10 1968 8  Netherlands (1)
11 1972 8  Netherlands (2)
12 1976 9  Soviet Union (4)
13 1980 9  United States (2)
Games Year Events Best Nation
14 1984 9  East Germany (1)
15 1988 10  East Germany (2)
16 1992 10  Germany (1)
17 1994 10  Norway (5)
18 1998 10  Netherlands (3)
19 2002 10  Netherlands (4)
20 2006 12  United States (3)
21 2010 12  South Korea (1)
22 2014 12  Netherlands (5)
23 2018 14  Netherlands (6)
24 2022 14  Netherlands (7)
25 2026 14

History

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The governing body for speed skating, the International Skating Union (ISU), was included in the list of recognized federations when the International Olympic Committee was founded, but was first discussed seriously for the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. No speed skating events were contested, although figure skating – also governed by the ISU – was on the programme. The preliminary calendar for the 1916 Summer Olympics, to be held in Berlin, listed a 3-event allround competition,[1] but these Games were cancelled because of World War I.

The International Winter Sports Week in Chamonix, retro-actively dubbed the 1924 Winter Olympics, contained five speed skating events. Uncommon for the time, it not only included an all-round competition, but also awarded medals for the individual distances: 500 m, 1500 m, 5000 m and 10000 m. The all-round event was dropped before the 1928 Games, even though it remained the only World Championship format in the sport until the 1970s; single distance World Championships were not established until 1996.

The 1932 speed skating events were held according to the North American rules, meaning the skaters competed in small packs of skaters (the format paved the way for the development of short track speed skating), instead of the common against-the-clock format. These Games in Lake Placid, New York, also saw the first female speed skaters at the Olympics in a set of demonstration events, with all victories being achieved by North American athletes. Women's events were also set to be held at the 1940 Winter Olympics,[1] which were cancelled. After the war, they were withdrawn again by the decision of the IOC until the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, when the women skated 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and 3000 m.

Following the introduction of World Sprint Championships in the early 1970s, the 1000 m for men was added in Innsbruck 1976, while the women's 5000 m, reinstated by the ISU as an official distance in 1981, made its Olympic debut in 1988. The latest addition to the Olympic speed skating programme is the team pursuit, which was added for the 2006 Turin Games. Its inclusion was remarkable as it had not yet been contested at a senior World Championship in the form skated at the Olympics at the time of inclusion. It had however been contested at a senior World Championship, the Dutch team won the 2005 title in Inzell, but in that form they only had to skate once and be the fastest, while the Olympic form required three starts.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Haralds Silovs became the first athlete in Olympic history to participate in both short track (1500m) and long track (5000m) speed skating, and the first to compete in two different disciplines on the same day.[2][3][4][5]

Events

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Men's

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The following table shows when events were contested at each Games. Women's events were demonstrated in 1932.

• = official event, (d) = demonstration event

Event 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 22 Years
500 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24
1000 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • 13
1500 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24
5000 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24
10000 metres • •[6] • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24
all-round • 1
mass start • • 2
team pursuit • • • • • 5
Total events 5 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7

Women's

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• = official event, (d) = demonstration event

Event 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 22 Years
500 metres (d) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 17
1000 metres (d) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 17
1500 metres (d) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 17
3000 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 17
5000 metres • • • • • • • • • • 9
mass start • • 2
team pursuit • • • • • 5
Total events 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7

Medal table

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See also: List of Olympic medalists in speed skating

Sources (after the 2022 Winter Olympics):[7]
Accurate as of 2022 Winter Olympics.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Netherlands (NED)484441133
2 United States (USA)30221971
3 Norway (NOR)28293087
4 Soviet Union (URS)24171960
5 Germany (GER)13151038
6 Canada (CAN)10161642
7 Sweden (SWE)94518
8 East Germany (GDR)812929
9 Finland (FIN)78924
10 Japan (JPN)5101126
11 South Korea (KOR)510520
12 Russia (RUS)35513
13 Czech Republic (CZE)3238
14 West Germany (FRG)3003
15 China (CHN)2349
16 Italy (ITA)2147
17 Austria (AUT)1236
 Poland (POL)1236
19 Belgium (BEL)1113
20 United Team of Germany (EUA)1102
21 ROC (ROC)0112
22 Belarus (BLR)0101
 North Korea (PRK)0101
24 Kazakhstan (KAZ)0011
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR)0011
Totals (25 entries)204207200611

Number of speed skaters by country

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     = Countries that did not participate in the Olympic Winter Games in that year or didn't exist at the time.
Country 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 22 Years
 Australia (AUS) 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 4 2 2 1 1 1 15
 Austria (AUT) 3 8 3 3 4 2 7 3 1 4 4 3 3 5 4 1 1 1 2 2 20
 Belarus (BLR) 2 4 5 1 1 4 6
 Belgium (BEL) 4 2 1 3 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 3 3 13
 British Virgin Islands (IVB) 1 1
 Canada (CAN) 1 3 7 1 4 4 3 5 4 7 10 8 8 7 16 9 13 17 16 18 16 15 19 23
 China (CHN) 13 12 4 10 6 12 12 15 14 10 13 11
 Chinese Taipei (TPE) 1 3 1 3
 Colombia (COL) 2 1 2
 Czechoslovakia (TCH) 2 1 3 2 1 2 6
 Czech Republic (CZE) 1 1 2 2 3 2 6
 Denmark (DEN) 1 1 1 1 3 5
 Estonia (EST) 2 1 2 1 3
 Finland (FIN) 3 6 1 5 5 6 6 7 10 8 6 4 4 3 2 3 1 3 4 4 3 3 22
 France (FRA) 4 2 1 3 3 5 1 2 1 2 4 1 1 1 2 3 1 17
 Germany (GER) 3 2 1 14 15 14 13 13 13 14 9 5 12
 United Team of Germany (EUA) 4 12 13 3
 East Germany (GDR) 1 2 9 9 10 11 6
 West Germany (FRG) 9 7 3 4 7 5 6
 Great Britain (GBR) 4 3 5 3 3 2 3 5 2 2 6 1 2 1 2 15
 Hungary (HUN) 1 1 5 2 4 3 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 13
 Italy (ITA) 4 3 6 3 2 4 2 6 3 3 3 4 5 4 8 8 5 6 9 7 19
 Japan (JPN) 4 7 6 5 8 8 12 13 9 8 9 13 15 17 18 20 19 19 17 16 15 21
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) 8 7 8 4 5 6 6 5 8
 North Korea (PRK) 9 6 6 4 5 2 1 7
 South Korea (KOR) 3 4 5 4 2 4 2 5 6 6 5 9 13 12 14 16 15 16 10 19
 Latvia (LAT) 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10
 Lithuania (LTU) 1 1
 Mongolia (MGL) 3 3 2 2 2 5
 Netherlands (NED) 2 5 4 7 6 5 5 9 10 7 9 11 11 14 13 16 17 20 19 20 20 18 22
 New Zealand (NZL) 1 1 1 3 1 5
 Norway (NOR) 5 8 6 7 12 12 11 6 9 14 14 9 11 8 7 8 8 10 8 10 9 9 9 12 24
 Poland (POL) 1 1 2 3 4 2 3 3 4 5 3 4 5 10 10 14 10 17
 Portugal (POR) 1 1
 Romania (ROU) 3 2 3 4 2 2 2 1 1 9
 Soviet Union (URS) 12 16 18 18 9 16 16 17 17 9
 Unified Team (EUN) 19 1
 Russia (RUS) 12 18 13 19 17 20 6
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) 4 1
 ROC (ROC) 16 1
 Sweden (SWE) 2 1 1 1 6 9 7 9 10 11 11 9 10 6 7 8 5 1 2 3 1 1 1 23
 Switzerland (SUI) 5 2 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 12
 Ukraine (UKR) 2 4 2 3
 United States (USA) 6 4 12 5 9 7 8 15 15 18 16 14 11 13 15 19 16 14 17 18 18 17 13 12 24
 Yugoslavia (YUG) 4 2 2 3
Countries 10 14 6 16 15 14 18 17 22 19 18 19 20 24 21 23 21 25 23 19 24 23 29 30
Speed skaters 31 40 31 52 68 67 88 103 137 137 118 122 127 139 142 155 151 171 166 175 180 179 184
Year 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 22

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Kluge 1995, page ?.
  2. ^ "Latvia's quick-change artist makes Olympic history". Toronto Star. 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  3. ^ Harris, Beth (2010-02-13). "Latvian speedskater is 1st to do double duty". Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-02-19.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ CTV Olympics, "Latvian skater makes Olympic history", Agence France Press, 14 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  5. ^ New York Times, "Crosstown Ride to a Speedskating First", Associated Press, 30 January 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  6. ^ The 10000 m event at the 1928 Games was cancelled during the fifth heat due to thawing ice.
  7. ^ "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 2022-02-20.

Bibliography

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  • Kluge, Volker. Olympische Winterspiele: Die Chronik - Chamonix 1924 - Lillehammer 1994. Berlin, Germany: Sportverlag, 2nd revised and updated edition, 1994. ISBN 3-328-00631-1
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