Winter Olympic Sports

Speed Skating

History

Gold Medal Ice skating was first used as a valuable way to travel during winter in Scandinavian countries as far back as 5,000 years ago. They used animal bones like cattle and horses and would attach them to the bottom of their feet.

Gold Medal Around the 1600s, speed skating gained popularity in cold northern European countries like the Netherlands and Scandinavia because of the new advances in the blades of the skates.

Gold Medal By the late 1800s, there were many speed skating clubs across Europe and America, and countries were holding World Championships to bring these countries together.

Equipment Used

Silver Medal Ice rink with lanes, speed ice skates, racing suit, gloves, helmet, and goggles.

Silver Medal Long track ice skate blades are 40-48 cm (16-19 in) long, with a slightly curved blade attached by a unique hinging device. This blade also detaches from the heel of the book when the skater is in motion. This device lets the blade be on the ice longer, and the skater will go faster. These skates are “Clap skates.”

Silver Medal The “Clap skate” was developed in the early 1980s and was first used in the 1998 Olympics.

Silver Medal Short-track ice skate blades are 30-45 cm (12-18 in) long. Short Track Speed Skating- 9 events in this category

Rules

Bronze Medal The short track is an oval-shaped track that is about 111 m (365 ft) long. In every heat, 4-6 athletes will race against each other counter-clockwise around the track. Racers will move around each other and race around tight corners. The skaters with the fastest times will advance to the next round. The skater who has the quickest time after all the matches is the winner.

Bronze Medal This race takes speed, skill, and good start placement.

Bronze Medal They can go about 48 kph (30 mph), and athletes wear helmets.

Women

500 m: (4 Â½ laps around the track) (Added to the Albertville (France) Winter Olympics in 1992)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winner (China) Jianrou Li)
1000 m: (9 laps around the track) (Added to the Lillehammer (Norway) Winter Olympics in 1994)

(2002 Salt Lake City gold medal winner (People’s Republic of China) Yang Yang)
1500 m: (13 Â½ laps around the track) (Added to the St Lake City (USA) Winter Olympics in 2002)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winner (People’s Republic of China) Yang Yang)
3000 m Team Relay: (This team has four women who each skate a portion of the 27 laps around the track) (Added to the Albertville (France) Winter Olympics in 1992)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winners 3000 m Team Relay (Republic of Korea) Alang Kim, Sang-Jeong Gong, Hae-Ri Jo, Suk Hee Shim, and Seung-Hi Park)

Men

500 m: (4 Â½ laps around the track) (Added to the Lillehammer (Norway) Winter Olympics in 1994)

(2010 Vancouver gold medal winner (Canada) Charles Hamelin)
1000 m: (9 laps around the track) (Added to the Albertville (France) Winter Olympics in 1992)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winner (Russian Federation) Victor An)
1500 m: (13 Â½ laps around the track) (Added to the St Lake City (USA) Winter Olympics in 2002

(2010 Vancouver gold medal winner (Republic of Korea) Jung-Su Lee)
¸5000 m Team Relay: (This team has four men who each skate a portion of the 45 laps around the track) (Added to the Albertville (France) Winter Olympics in 1992)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winners (Russian Federation) Ruslan Zakharov, Vladimir Grigorev, Victor An, Semyon Yelistratov, and Dmitry Migunov)

Mixed Teams

Mixed Team 2000 m: (18 laps around the track) Two men and two women from each country will skate. Each athlete will skate twice in this race. (Added to the Beijing (China) Winter Olympics in 2022)

(2022 Beijing gold medal winners (People’s Republic of China) Ziwei Ren, Chunyu Qu, Dajing Wu, Kexin Fan, and Yuting Zhang)

Speed Skating (Long Track)

14 events in this category

Rules

Bronze Medal The long track is a 400 m (1,312 ft) oval-shaped track. In this event, only two athletes are racing clockwise at a time, racing each other for the fastest time and against the times in the other heats. The skater with the fastest overall time is the winner. That means that each skater will only race one time.

Bronze Medal Skaters can go as fast or faster than 56 kph (35 mph) and do not wear helmets.

Women

(Was a demonstration sport in 1932 in the Lake Placid (USA) Winter Olympics)

2×500 m: (1 Â¼ laps around the track) (Added to the Squaw Valley (USA) Winter Olympics in 1960)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winner 500 m (Republic of Korea) Lee Sang Hwa)
1000 m: (2 Â½ laps around the track)(Added to the Squaw Valley (USA) Winter Olympics in 1960)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winner (China) Hong Zhang)
1500 m: (3 Â¾ laps around the track)(Added to the Squaw Valley (USA) Winter Olympics in 1960)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winner (Netherlands) Jorien Ter Mors)
3000 m: (7 Â½ laps around the track) (Added to the Squaw Valley (USA) Winter Olympics in 1960)

(2022 Beijing gold medal winner (Netherlands) Irene Schouten)
5000 m: (12 Â½ laps around the track) (Added to the Calgary (Canada) Winter Olympics in 1988)

(2022 Beijing gold medal winner ( Netherlands) Irene Schouten)
Team pursuit: (8 laps around the track) In this event, three skaters will take turns skating 2,400m (about 1.5 mi). Two teams will start the race on opposite sides straightaway in this race. The winner of the heat will move on to the next round. After all the runs, the team with the fastest time will win. (Added to the Turin (Italy) Winter Olympics in 2006)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winners (Netherlands) Lotte Van Beek, Jorien Ter Mors, Ireen Wüst, and Marrit Leenstra)
Mass start: (16 laps around the track) In this event, all racers (max 24 skaters and all individual racers) will start the race together. This event is won by “Sprint points,” athletes can earn during their 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th laps. Then, the points are added, and the skater with the most points wins. For example, if an athlete finishes the race in 4th place, but after the points are combined, this racer could win a medal. (Added to the Pyeongchang (South Korea) Winter Olympics in 2018)

(2022 Beijing gold medal winner (Netherlands) Irene Schouten)

Men

2×500 m: (1 Â¼ laps around the track) (Added to the first official Winter Olympics in Chamonix (France) in 1924)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winner (Netherlands) Michel Mulder)
1000 m (2 Â½ laps around the track) (Added to the Innsbruck (Austria) in 1976)

(2010 Vancouver gold medal winner (USA) Shani Davis)
1500 m (3 Â¾ laps around the track) (Added to the first official Winter Olympics in Chamonix (France) in 1924)

(2002 Salt Lake City gold medal winner (USA) Apolo Ohno)
5000 m (12 Â½ laps around the track) (Added to the first official Winter Olympics in Chamonix (France) in 1924)

(2022 Beijing gold medal winner (Sweden) Nils Van Der Poel)
10,000 m: (25 laps around the track) (Added to the first official Winter Olympics in Chamonix (France) in 1924)

(2022 Beijing gold medal winner (Sweden) Nils Van Der Poel)

Mixed Teams

Team pursuit: (8 laps around the track) In this event, a team of 3 skaters will take turns skating 3,200 m (about 2 mi). Two teams will start the race on opposite sides straightaway in this race. The winner of the heat will move on to the next round. After all the matches, the team with the fastest time will win. (Added to the Turin (Italy) Winter Olympics in 2006)

(2014 Sochi gold medal winners (Netherlands) Jan Blokhuijsen, Jorrit Bergsma, Koen Verweij, and Sven Kramer)
Mass start: (16 laps around the track) All racers (max 24 skaters) will start the race together in this event. They will skate 16 laps. This event is won by “Sprint points,” which athletes can earn during their 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th lap. Then, the points are added, and the skater with the most points wins. For example, if an athlete finishes the race in 4th place, but after the points are totaled, this racer could win a medal. (Added to the Pyeongchang (South Korea) Winter Olympics in 2018)

(2022 Beijing gold medal winner (Belgium) Bart Swings)