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Speed skating at the Winter Olympics facts for kids

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Speed skating at the Winter Olympics
Speed skating pictogram.svg
Governing body ISU
Events 14 (men: 7; women: 7)
Games
  • 1924
  • 1928
  • 1932
  • 1936
  • 1948
  • 1952
  • 1956
  • 1960
  • 1964
  • 1968
  • 1972
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1984
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1994
  • 1998
  • 2002
  • 2006
  • 2010
  • 2014
  • 2018
  • Medalists

Long track speed skating is an exciting sport where athletes race on ice, trying to be the fastest. It has been a part of the Winter Olympics since the very first Winter Games in 1924. For many years, only men competed. Then, in the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics, women's speed skating events were added to the Olympic program for the first time.

Speed Skating at the Olympics: A Quick Look

Speed skating has been a key part of the Winter Olympics for a long time. Over the years, the number of events has grown, and different countries have shown their strength in the sport.

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

The History of Olympic Speed Skating

The sport of speed skating is managed by the International Skating Union (ISU). This organization was recognized when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was created. Speed skating was first seriously considered for the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. However, no speed skating events were held then. Only figure skating, also managed by the ISU, was part of those Games.

Plans for speed skating events were made for the 1916 Summer Olympics in Berlin. These Games were supposed to have a three-event "all-round" competition. But, the Games were canceled because of World War I.

Early Olympic Races

The first Winter Olympics, held in Chamonix in 1924, included five speed skating events. This was special because it had both an "all-round" competition and medals for individual distances. These distances were 500 meters, 1500 meters, 5000 meters, and 10000 meters. The "all-round" event was removed after the 1928 Games. Even so, it remained the main way to compete in World Speed Skating Championships until the 1970s. Single distance World Championships only started in 1996.

Changes in Race Formats

At the 1932 speed skating events, a different set of rules was used. Instead of skaters racing against the clock one by one, they raced in small groups. This style of racing helped lead to the development of short track speed skating. These Games in Lake Placid, New York, also featured the first female speed skaters in special "demonstration" events. All the winners in these events were from North America. Women's events were also planned for the 1940 Winter Olympics, but those Games were canceled due to World War II. After the war, women's events were not included again until the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley. At those Games, women competed in 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, and 3000 m races.

New Events Added

In the 1970s, "World Sprint Championships" were introduced. Following this, the 1000-meter race for men was added at the Innsbruck 1976 Games. The women's 5000-meter race, which the ISU made an official distance again in 1981, made its Olympic debut in 1988.

The newest addition to Olympic speed skating is the "team pursuit" event. This was added for the 2006 Turin Games. It was interesting because it had not yet been raced at a major World Championship in the exact Olympic format when it was added.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Haralds Silovs made history. He was the first athlete ever to compete in both short track (1500m) and long track speed skating. Even more amazing, he competed in both sports on the same day!

Olympic Speed Skating Events

This section shows which speed skating events have been held at each Winter Olympic Games.

  • • = official event (meaning medals were awarded)
  • (d) = demonstration event (meaning it was shown but no medals were given)

Men's Events

Event 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 Years
500 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24
1000 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • 13
1500 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24
5000 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24
10000 metres • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 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 Events

Event 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 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

Olympic Medal Count

This table shows which countries have won the most medals in speed skating at the Winter Olympics. It includes results up to the 2022 Winter Olympics.

See also: List of Olympic medalists in speed skating

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

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  Netherlands (NED) 48 44 41 133
2  United States (USA) 30 22 19 71
3  Norway (NOR) 28 29 30 87
4  Soviet Union (URS) 24 17 19 60
5  Germany (GER) 13 15 10 38
6  Canada (CAN) 10 16 16 42
7  Sweden (SWE) 9 4 5 18
8  East Germany (GDR) 8 12 9 29
9  Finland (FIN) 7 8 9 24
10  Japan (JPN) 5 10 11 26
11  South Korea (KOR) 5 10 5 20
12  Russia (RUS) 3 5 5 13
13  Czech Republic (CZE) 3 2 3 8
14  West Germany (FRG) 3 0 0 3
15  China (CHN) 2 3 4 9
16  Italy (ITA) 2 1 4 7
17  Austria (AUT) 1 2 3 6
 Poland (POL) 1 2 3 6
19  Belgium (BEL) 1 1 1 3
20  United Team of Germany (EUA) 1 1 0 2
21  Republic of China (ROC) (ROC) 0 1 1 2
22  Belarus (BLR) 0 1 0 1
 North Korea (PRK) 0 1 0 1
24  Kazakhstan (KAZ) 0 0 1 1
 Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) 0 0 1 1
Totals (25 entries) 204 207 200 611

Countries and Skaters in the Olympics

Many countries have sent speed skaters to the Winter Olympics over the years. Some countries have participated in almost every Games, while others have joined more recently. The number of skaters from each country can change a lot from one Olympics to the next.

  • Countries that did not participate in the Olympic Winter Games in that year or didn't exist at the time are marked with a gray background.
Country 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10 14 18 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 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 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 24
 Poland (POL) 1 1 2 3 4 2 3 3 4 5 3 4 5 10 10 14 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
 Republic of China (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 23
 Switzerland (SUI) 5 2 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 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 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

More About Speed Skating

  • Ice sledge speed racing at the Winter Paralympics
  • List of Olympic venues in speed skating
  • List of Olympic medalists in speed skating

See also

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