Speed skating

Speed skating
	Paulien van Deutekom, Thialf, 2007
Highest governing body	International Skating Union
Characteristics
Mixed gender	Yes
Presence
Olympic	1924

Speed skating or speedskating is when in ice skating, people race against each other. Everyone will travel the same distance. They usually compete around an oval course.^[1] The Dutch were arguably the earliest pioneers of skating. They began using canals to maintain communication by skating from village to village as far back as the 13th century. Skating eventually spread across the channel to England, and soon the first clubs and artificial rinks began to form. Passionate skaters included several kings of England, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon III and German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Speed skating appeared for the first time in 1924 at the first Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix. Initially, only men were allowed to participate. It was only at the Lake Placid Games in 1932 that women were authorised to compete in speed skating, which was then only a demonstration sport. It was not until the 1960 Games in Squaw Valley that women’s speed skating was officially included in the Olympic programme.

The events almost always follow the European system, which consists of skaters competing two-by-two. At the 1932 Olympic Games, the Americans organised American-style events, i.e. with a mass start. This decision brought about a boycott by many European competitors, which allowed the Americans to win the four gold medals. This system would give birth to short-track speed skating, which was added to the Olympic programme in Albertville in 1992. The first known skating competition is thought to have been held in the Netherlands in 1676. However, the first official speed skating events were not held until 1863 in Oslo, Norway. In 1889, the Netherlands hosted the first World Championships, bringing together Dutch, Russian, American and English teams.

Speed Skating Media

Long track speed skating, Thialf, 2008
Veit Dubiel (GER) at the German Single Distanz Championship 2009 in Berlin, Germany, start 1000 m
Nicolaas Bauer: Women's speed skating competition on the town canal at Leeuwarden, 1809.
Speed skating match on the Zuiderzee near Hindeloopen, Netherlands, in 1828
Jaap Eden, the first official world champion
Historical footage of the 1954 Elfstedentocht with Dutch commentary
Speed skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland
Monique Angermüller on clap skates and in a full body-covering suit in 2008
Sven Kramer, Jan Blokhuijsen and Koen Verweij (NED) in team pursuit at the 2018 Winter Olympics.