Skating

Updated: 2006-02-10 14:21

Speed skating

ABOUT

It is believed that skates were developed about 3000 years ago in Scandinavia. In the Netherlands, skating served as a way to travel over the canals in winter and the Dutch are still among the world's most avid skaters.

Although the Netherlands is the birthplace of speed skating, the first known skating competition is thought to have been held in 1676. Competitions sprung up across the northern part of Europe shortly after, but 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 the Dutch, Russians, Americans and English.

Speed Skating has been a part of the Olympic programme since the 1st Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix Mont Blanc in 1924. Originally only men participated, but women's events were included in the 1960 Squaw Valley Games.

COMPETITION

Speed skating at the Olympic Games consists of ten events: 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m for both woman and men, 3000m for women, 10,000m for men, and Team pursuit for women and men.

All events are skated once, with the exception of the men's and women's 500 metres, which are skated twice.

The final result is based on the total time of the two races.
In each event, skaters race in pairs against the clock on a standard 400m oval. Athletes are timed to a hundredth of a second as they skate counter-clockwise around the oval.

LIST OF EVENTS

10000m Men 
1000m Men 
1000m Women 
1500m Men 
1500m Women 
3000m Women 
5000m Men 
5000m Women 
500m Men 
500m Women 
Team pursuit Men 
Team pursuit Women