Beijing 2022 - Speedskating - Long Track

Ice skating has come a long way since it was developed centuries ago on the frozen canals of the Netherlands. Long track speedskating, held on a 400-meter oval, has evolved into a mesmerizing display of power and grace as athletes race across the ice trying to post the fastest time.

Long track speedskating has been part of the Olympics since the first Winter Games in 1924. Women took part in demonstration events at the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York. The first women’s medal events were held at the 1960 Winter Games in what’s now Palisades Tahoe, California.

Competition in Beijing will include six individual events for men and women, plus a team pursuit event for both. Men and women race individually at 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 5,000 meters, while the women also have a 3,000-meter race and the men a 10,000. Each of those races use the time trial format in which pairs of skaters together. The newest event, a 16-lap mass start race, was added to the Olympics in 2018 and features a pack of skaters.

The Netherlands has dominated long track speedskating historically, with 42 gold medals and 121 total medals. Team USA, Norway and Russia are among a distant second tier. However, the U.S. is coming off two Olympics in which it won just a single medal. Those fortunes could change in Beijing, as the U.S. team brings defending world champions in Brittany Bowe and Joey Mantia, as well as the season’s fastest woman at 500 meters in Erin Jackson. They’ll face competition from the usual suspects including the Dutch team that won seven of the 14 events at the 2021 world championships.

In Beijing, speedskating events will be held at the National Speed Skating Oval. The venue, which has been nicknamed the Ice Ribbon, is within the city’s Olympic Green cluster of venues that was also the centerpiece of the 2008 Summer Games.

Updated on January 28, 2022