List of world records in speed skating facts for kids
This page is all about the fastest times ever recorded in speed skating! These amazing records are officially recognized by the International Skating Union, which is like the main rule-making body for skating around the world. Skaters push their limits to set new world records in different races, from short sprints to long distances.
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World Records in Speed Skating
Speed skating world records are the absolute best times achieved by skaters in various events. These records are set by incredible athletes from all over the globe.
Men's World Records
Here are the current world records for men in different speed skating events:
| Event | Name | Country | Time | Date | Place | Average speed | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 meters | Pavel Kulizhnikov |  Russia |
33.61 | 9 March 2019 |  Salt Lake City |
53.56 km/h (33.28 mph) | 2018–19 World Cup Final | |
| 500 meters × 2 | Jeremy Wotherspoon |  Canada |
1:08.31 | 15 March 2008 | Calgary |
52.70 km/h (32.75 mph) | Olympic Oval Finale 2008 | |
| 1000 meters | Jordan Stolz | United States |
1:05.37 | 26 January 2024 | Salt Lake City |
55.38 km/h (34.41 mph) | 2023–24 World Cup | |
| 1500 meters | Kjeld Nuis |  Netherlands |
1:40.17 | 10 March 2019 | Salt Lake City |
53.91 km/h (33.50 mph) | 2018–19 World Cup Final | |
| 3000 meters * | Eskil Ervik |  Norway |
3:37.28 | 5 November 2005 | Calgary |
49.71 km/h (30.89 mph) | Olympic Oval Invitational 2005 | |
| 5000 meters | Nils van der Poel |  Sweden |
6:01.56 | 3 December 2021 | Salt Lake City |
49.78 km/h (30.93 mph) | 2021–22 World Cup | |
| 10000 meters | Nils van der Poel | Sweden |
12:30.74 | 11 February 2022 |  Beijing |
47.95 km/h (29.79 mph) | 2022 Winter Olympics | |
| Team sprint (3 laps) |
Vincent De Haître Gilmore Junio Laurent Dubreuil |
Canada |
1:17.31 | 1 December 2017 | Calgary |
2017–18 World Cup | ||
| Team pursuit (8 laps) ** |
Casey Dawson Emery Lehman Ethan Cepuran |
United States |
3:33.66 | 27 January 2024 | Salt Lake City |
52.21 km/h (32.44 mph) |
2023–24 World Cup | |
| Sprint combination | Kai Verbij | Netherlands |
136.065 pts | 25–26 February 2017 | Calgary |
2017 World Sprint Championships | ||
| Small combination | Erben Wennemars | Netherlands |
146.365 pts | 12–13 August 2005 | Calgary |
Summer Classic 2005 | ||
| Big combination | Patrick Roest | Netherlands |
145.561 pts | 2–3 March 2019 | Calgary |
2019 World Allround Championships | ||
| One hour *** | Erik Jan Kooiman | Netherlands |
43,735.94 m | 9 December 2015 |  Inzell |
43.73 km/h (27.17 mph) |
- For the 3000 meters, some skaters have gone faster in unofficial races or during parts of longer races. However, these times don't count as official world records.
- In a team pursuit race, skaters only use the inner lane. This means the lap distance is shorter than a regular 400-meter lap. The average speed is calculated based on this shorter distance (about 3098.88 meters for men).
- This is an unofficial best time, meaning it's not recognized as a world record by the ISU.
- In a team pursuit race, skaters only use the inner lane. This means the lap distance is shorter than a regular 400-meter lap. The average speed is calculated based on this shorter distance (about 3098.88 meters for men).
Women's World Records
Here are the current world records for women in different speed skating events:
| Event | Name | Country | Time | Date | Place | Average speed | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 meters | Lee Sang-hwa |  South Korea |
36.36 | 16 November 2013 | Salt Lake City |
49.50 km/h (30.76 mph) | 2013–14 World Cup | |
| 500 meters × 2 | Heather Richardson | United States |
1:14.19 | 28 December 2013 | Salt Lake City |
48.95 km/h (30.42 mph) | 2017 World U.S. Olympic Trials | |
| 1000 meters | Brittany Bowe | United States |
1:11.61 | 9 March 2019 | Salt Lake City |
50.27 km/h (31.24 mph) | 2018–19 World Cup Final | |
| 1500 meters | Miho Takagi |  Japan |
1:49.83 | 10 March 2019 | Salt Lake City |
49.17 km/h (30.55 mph) | 2018–19 World Cup Final | |
| 3000 meters | Martina Sáblíková |  Czech Republic |
3:52.02 | 9 March 2019 | Salt Lake City |
46.55 km/h (28.92 mph) | 2018–19 World Cup Final | |
| 5000 meters | Natalya Voronina | Russia |
6:39.02 | 15 February 2020 | Salt Lake City |
45.11 km/h (28.03 mph) | 2020 World Single Distances Championships | |
| 10,000 meters *** | Martina Sáblíková | Czech Republic |
13:48.33 | 15 March 2007 | Calgary |
43.46 km/h (27.00 mph) | Olympic Oval Finale 2007 | |
| Team sprint (3 laps) |
Femke Kok Jutta Leerdam Letitia de Jong |
Netherlands |
1:24.02 | 13 February 2020 | Salt Lake City |
2020 World Single Distances Championships | ||
| Team pursuit (6 laps) ** |
Nana Takagi Ayano Sato Miho Takagi |
Japan |
2:50.76 | 14 February 2020 | Salt Lake City |
49.00 km/h (30.45 mph) | 2020 World Single Distances Championships | |
| Sprint combination | Nao Kodaira | Japan |
146.390 pts | 25–26 February 2017 | Calgary |
2017 World Sprint Championships | ||
| Mini combination | Joy Beune | Netherlands |
153.776 pts | 9–10 March 2018 | Salt Lake City |
2018 World Junior Championships | ||
| Small combination | Cindy Klassen | Canada |
154.580 pts | 18–19 March 2006 | Calgary |
2006 World Allround Championships | ||
| One hour *** | Carien Kleibeuker | Netherlands |
40,569.56 m | 9 December 2015 | Inzell |
40.57 km/h (25.21 mph) |
-
- For the women's team pursuit, the average speed is calculated using a distance of about 2324.16 meters, as skaters only use the inner lane.
- This is an unofficial best time, meaning it's not recognized as a world record by the ISU.
- For the women's team pursuit, the average speed is calculated using a distance of about 2324.16 meters, as skaters only use the inner lane.
Mixed Gender World Records
Some speed skating events involve both male and female skaters. Here is a record for a mixed team:
| Event | Name | Country | Time | Date | Place | Average speed | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixed Gender Relay | Sun Chuanyi Jin Wenjing |
China |
2:54.90 | 28 January 2024 | Salt Lake City |
2023–24 World Cup |
Sea-Level World Bests
Many world records are set in places like Salt Lake City and Calgary. These cities are high up, more than 1 kilometer (about 0.6 miles) above sea level. Skating at high altitudes can make you faster because there's less air to push against, even though there's also less oxygen.
Because of this, skating experts also keep track of "sea-level world bests." These are the fastest times recorded at rinks that are closer to sea level, where the air resistance is normal. Records from Salt Lake City and Calgary are not included in these lists.
Men's Sea-Level World Bests
Here are the best times for men at rinks closer to sea level:
| Event | Name | Country | Time | Date | Place | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 meters | Tatsuya Shinhama | Japan |
34.07 | 8 March 2020 | Heerenveen |
2019–20 World Cup | |
| 500 meters × 2 | Pavel Kulizhnikov | Russia |
68.931 | 15 February 2015 | Heerenveen |
2015 World Single Distances Championships | |
| 1000 meters | Pavel Kulizhnikov | Russia |
1:07.09 | 12 January 2020 | Heerenveen |
2020 European Championships | |
| 1500 meters | Jordan Stolz | United States |
1:42.31 | 27 October 2023 | Milwaukee |
2024 US Championships | |
| 3000 meters | Sven Kramer | Netherlands |
3:37.39 | 20 December 2019 | Heerenveen |
||
| 5000 meters | Patrick Roest | Netherlands |
6:04.36 | 19 November 2022 | Heerenveen |
2022–23 World Cup | |
| 10000 meters | Nils van der Poel | Sweden |
12:30.74 | 11 February 2022 | Beijing |
2022 Winter Olympics | |
| Team sprint (3 laps) |
Pavel Kulizhnikov Ruslan Murashov Viktor Mushtakov |
Russia |
1:18.92 | 10 January 2020 | Heerenveen |
2020 European Championships | |
| Team pursuit (8 laps) |
Sander Eitrem Peder Kongshaug Sverre Lunde Pedersen |
Norway |
3:34.22 | 5 January 2024 | Heerenveen |
2024 European Championships | |
| Sprint combination | Pavel Kulizhnikov | Russia |
137.390 pts | 23–24 February 2019 | Heerenveen |
2019 World Sprint Championships | |
| Small combination | Koen Verweij | Netherlands |
148.517 pts | 12–13 March 2010 | Moscow |
2010 World Junior Championships | |
| Big combination | Patrick Roest | Netherlands |
146.060 pts | 27–28 December 2022 | Heerenveen |
2023 Dutch Allround Championships |
Women's Sea-Level World Bests
Here are the best times for women at rinks closer to sea level:
| Event | Name | Country | Time | Date | Place | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 meters | Nao Kodaira | Japan |
36.94 | 18 February 2018 | Gangneung |
2018 Winter Olympics | |
| 500 meters × 2 | Femke Kok | Netherlands |
74.44 | 27 December 2020 | Heerenveen |
Dutch Qualification Tournament | |
| 1000 meters | Jutta Leerdam | Netherlands |
1:12.80 | 28 December 2022 | Heerenveen |
2023 Dutch Sprint Championships | |
| 1500 meters | Miho Takagi | Japan |
1:52.78 | 13 February 2021 | Nagano |
2020/2021 All Japan Selected Nagano Tournament | |
| 3000 meters | Irene Schouten | Netherlands |
3:54.04 | 20 November 2022 | Heerenveen |
2022–23 World Cup | |
| 5000 meters | Irene Schouten | Netherlands |
6:41.25 | 5 March 2023 | Heerenveen |
2023 World Single Distances Championships | |
| Team sprint (3 laps) |
Olga Fatkulina Angelina Golikova Daria Kachanova |
Russia |
1:26.17 | 10 January 2020 | Heerenveen |
2020 European Championships | |
| Team pursuit (6 laps) |
Ivanie Blondin Valérie Maltais Isabelle Weidemann |
Canada |
2:53.44 | 15 February 2022 | Beijing |
2022 Winter Olympics | |
| Sprint combination | Jutta Leerdam | Netherlands |
147.135 pts | 27–28 December 2022 | Heerenveen |
2023 Dutch Sprint Championships | |
| Mini combination | Cindy Klassen | Canada |
157.950 pts | 15–17 November 2002 | Erfurt |
2002–03 World Cup | |
| Small combination | Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong | Netherlands |
157.859 pts | 27–28 December 2022 | Heerenveen |
2023 Dutch Allround Championships |
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List of world records in speed skating Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.