Speed skating at the Winter Olympics

Speed skating at the Winter Olympics
Governing body ISU
Events 12 (men: 6; women: 6)
Games

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.

History

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 rules of the American speed skating federation, meaning the skaters competed in small packs of skaters (similar to 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, although their events were only demonstration events. 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 After the war, they were withdrawn again until 1960, when the women skated 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and 3000 m.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

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 Years
Men's 500 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 22
Men's 1000 metres • • • • • • • • • • • 11
Men's 1500 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 22
Men's 5000 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 22
Men's 10000 metres • •[6] • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 22
Men's all-round • 1
Men's team pursuit • • • 3
Women's 500 metres (d) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 15
Women's 1000 metres (d) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 15
Women's 1500 metres (d) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 15
Women's 3000 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 15
Women's 5000 metres • • • • • • • • 8
Women's team pursuit • • • 3
Total events 5 3 4 4 4 4 4 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 12 12 12

Medal table

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  Netherlands (NED) 35 36 34 105
2  United States (USA) 29 22 16 67
3  Norway (NOR) 25 28 27 80
4  Soviet Union (URS) 24 17 19 60
5  Germany (GER) 13 15 10 38
6  Canada (CAN) 8 12 15 35
7  East Germany (GDR) 8 12 9 29
8  Finland (FIN) 7 8 9 24
9  Sweden (SWE) 7 4 5 16
10  South Korea (KOR) 4 4 1 9
11  Russia (RUS) 3 5 5 13
12  Czech Republic (CZE) 3 1 1 5
13  West Germany (FRG) 3 0 0 3
14  Italy (ITA) 2 0 1 3
15  Japan (JPN) 1 5 9 15
16  China (CHN) 1 3 3 7
17  Austria (AUT) 1 2 3 6
 Poland (POL) 1 2 3 6
19  United Team of Germany (EUA) 1 1 0 2
20  Belarus (BLR) 0 1 0 1
 North Korea (PRK) 0 1 0 1
22  Belgium (BEL) 0 0 1 1
 Kazakhstan (KAZ) 0 0 1 1
Total 176 179 172 527

Updated after the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.24-02-2014

Number of speed skaters by country

    = 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 Years
 Australia (AUS) 1112121224221114
 Austria (AUT) 383342731443354111228
 Belarus (BLR)                                 2 4 5 1 1 5
 Belgium (BEL) 4213212111211
 British Virgin Islands (IVB) 11
 Canada (CAN) 13714435471088716913171618161522
 China (CHN) 13124106121215141010
 Czechoslovakia (TCH)       2 1   3   2           1 2             6
 Czech Republic (CZE)                                     1 1 2 2 4
 Denmark (DEN) 11114
 Estonia (EST)   2   1                       2
 Finland (FIN) 361556671086443231344321
 France (FRA) 421335121241112316
 Germany (GER)   3   2   1                   14 15 14 13 13 13 14 10
 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) 4353323522612114
 Hungary (HUN) 11524312122112
 Italy (ITA) 43632426333454885618
 Japan (JPN) 4765881213989131517182019191719
 Kazakhstan (KAZ)                                 8 7 8 4 5 6 6
 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 17
 Latvia (LAT) 1 1   3                       1 1 1 1 1 8
 Lithuania (LTU)   1                           1
 Mongolia (MGL) 332225
 Netherlands (NED) 25476559107911111413161720192020
 New Zealand (NZL) 1113
 Norway (NOR) 58671212116914149118788108109922
 Poland (POL) 1123423345345101015
 Portugal (POR) 11
 Romania (ROU) 32342227
 Russia (RUS)                                 12 18 13 19 17 20 6
 Soviet Union (URS)             12 16 18 18 9 16 16 17 17               9
 Unified Team (EUN)                               19             1
 Sweden (SWE) 21116979101211996785123121
 Switzerland (SUI) 523311111110
 Chinese Taipei (TPE) 128
 Ukraine (UKR)                                 2 4 2 3
 United States (USA) 6412597815151816141113171917141718181722
 Yugoslavia (YUG) 4223
Countries 10 14 6 16 15 14 18 17 22 19 18 19 20 24 21 23 21 25 23 19 24 23 22
Speed skaters 31 40 31 52 68 67 88 103 137 137 118 122 127 139 142 155 151 171 166 175 180 179 22
Year 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 22

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 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.
  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 had to be cancelled due to poor ice conditions.

Bibliography

  • 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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