History of speed skating

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Short distance competition in Hindeloopen 1828

This article deals with the history of classic speed skating on the 400-meter running track (longtrack).

Beginnings until 1850

1763

  • England: the first known ice skating competition is held in the Fens of Cambridgeshire . Participants are two runners from the English nobility and the winner received prize money of 10 guineas . The run is said to have been 15 miles (approx. 24 kilometers) long and it took the winner 46 minutes. Fen Skating competitions, which were held until around 1890, develop from this.

Around 1800

  • In the provinces of Friesland and Groningen , during the periods of frost, ice skating is often organized by the hosts and owners of the snack bars and coffee shops in order to encourage visits to their facilities and lucrative betting income . Short-distance races over 140 meters for women and 160 meters for men are held in front of thousands of spectators. Items made of gold or silver, such as a silver tobacco box in Sneek in 1803, are occasionally awarded as prizes. Soon, however, monetary prices also become common, which in the past century could have been 120 to 150 guilders . Very good runners can earn a small fortune with it.

1801

  • In Groningen , a traditional race between two women over 30 miles will be held for the first time.

1805

  • In Leeuwarden there is a short distance race with 130 female participants, although it was previously doubted that women could run races, especially with regard to their clothing.

1821

  • Newmarket , England: A man offers 100 guineas to anyone who can fly a mile on the ice in three minutes. John Gittam from Nordelph manages this 7 seconds under the time. A generation later, William Smart dares the same bet for two and a half minutes, but then takes two seconds more.

1823

  • London a skating race open to everyone is held. There was no prize money, so this is one of the world's first traditional amateur races.

Early developments in individual countries

England

Fen Skater at the turning point of the double track

In 1763 a famous ice skating competition was held for the first time in the Fens of Cambridgeshire . Between around 1850 and 1890, competitions are held in which prizes can also be won. The landowners and nobles who host the competitions levy entry fees which result in prize money in the order of approximately £ 10.

As a running track, distances of 660 yards on the ice are measured and divided into two lanes with markings. At the ends there are turning marks, which for example consist of barrels with an inserted flag. The track has the shape of a hairpin, the bend at the turning marks is not divided.

The competitions are carried out in the knockout system , with about 16 to 32 competitors being drawn from pairs of runners, the winner of which competes against the winner of another pairing in the next round. Each of the drawn pairs of runners starts on their assigned side and runs over to the other lane at the turning mark. For a one and a half mile race, the runners completed two laps, circling the turning marks three times. With 16 participants, the final winner had to have run a total of 6 miles.

William See and William Smart
James Smart

The winner receives half of the prize money and the rest is distributed to the other runners proportionally according to their progress in the competition. The winners of local competitions are also invited to take part in larger competitions with ice skaters from all over the Fen area. There are also women's competitions, but they don't get as much attention and prize money as the men.

In addition to the generally organized competitions, outstanding runners also challenge individual competitions for a sum of money that has been suspended. For example, in the Cambridge Chronicle of 1853, it is reported that the brothers Larman and Robert Register offered a race against another pair of runners for a prize of £ 20. Three years later, Larman Register also teamed up with challenger William "Turkey" Smart to offer races with him as a team. The outstanding English runner of the time, William “Turkey” Smart , won almost all races in England from 1854 to 1868, only in 1867 his brother-in-law William See caused Smart's only defeat.

In 1878 William Smart's nephew, George “Fish” Smart , won his first race and remained undefeated in several hundred competitions in England until 1889, with a few exceptions. Subsequently, his younger brother James Smart takes over the predominance of the English ice skating competitions.

In 1879 the English Federation held the first British Mile and a Half Championship for professional runners, and in 1880 the first British championship for amateurs.

Up until 1885, the outstanding James Smart was able to set up "world records" and a "world championship" at an "international" level in occasional competitions in the Netherlands . Despite the early and respectable tradition of speed skating in England, this was not continued on an international level in the period that followed. A major reason for this is that at that time only natural ice was available for running competitions, and this is countered by frequent mild winters due to the Gulf Stream , especially in England , which often lead to decades of pauses in competitions. In the annals of the ISU for the regularly recognized world records (since 1891), the Olympic Winter Games (since 1924) and World Championships (since 1996), not a single runner from Great Britain appears successfully (as of 2011).

Norway

On March 1, 1863, 70 participants in Kristiania (later Oslo ) held the first traditional race there. Allegedly 10,000 spectators cheered on the runners. The initially best-known and most successful runner, who also competed in other countries, is Axel Paulsen , who set the first best time on one of today's routes in Kristiania in 11: 11.0 minutes over 5000 meters. At the turn of the century, Oscar replaced Mathisen Paulsen as the most successful runner. Norwegians are the most successful speed skaters in terms of the official best times they run, starting with Oskar Fredriksen in 1890 and ending with World War II . Only the Dutchman Jaap Eden and the Finn Clas Thunberg can keep up at this level in the meantime. Other particularly successful Norwegian runners from this era are Ivar Ballangrud and Hjalmar Andersen .

  • Axel Paulsen
    Photo: Joh. Thorsen

  • Oscar Mathisen with all medals won

  • Oscar Mathisen at the start in Hamar 1907

  • Norwegian runners in Davos 1908

Netherlands

Painting by Andreas Schelfhout, ca.1850

1882

  • Foundation of the Dutch Ice Skating Association.

In the Netherlands, the extensive canal system favors ice skating when the weather is cold enough.

World champion Jaap Eden, here already with "Norwegian skates"
Competition course Grote Wielen / Leeuwarden 1885
10th Eleven Cities Tour (1954)

1885

  • In Leeuwarden there is a four-lap race of one English mile each. The Dutchman Pieter Bruinsma wins against the competition from Norway, Canada and Great Britain. The best Norwegians around Paulsen and Hagen are missing due to other obligations.
  • On January 22nd, Wiebe H. Vries in Heerenveen set 58.0 seconds over 500 meters, the first world best time of a Dutch runner on one of today's usual routes.

1886

  • Hamar: Jaap Eden becomes world champion by winning three out of four running routes.

1887

  • Slikkeveer : The first high-speed competition on a Dutch double track is held.

1888

  • Title fights for professional runners are held in Amsterdam, with Harald Hagen from Norway emerging as the winner.
  • In Trondheim that same year there is a first women's race on February 12th over the usual routes. The Norwegian Line Bye runs 86.2 seconds over 500 meters.

1889

  • The Amsterdam IJsclub is organizing the first “unofficial” world championships from January 8th to 10th. The Russian Panschin wins over half and a whole English mile, the American Donoghue over three English miles.

1896

  • St. Petersburg: Jaap Eden becomes world champion by winning three of four running routes.

1909

  • The first run of the Elfstedentocht over almost 200 kilometers starts in Leeuwarden on January 2nd .

German-speaking area

There was already keen interest in speed skating in the major cities of Germany, Austria and Switzerland at an early stage, which is initially reflected in events with international and national participation. However, it will then take another 20 years for German speed skaters to achieve significant success on an international level.

National association

1888 Foundation of the German National Ice Skating Association

1890 The German Ice Sports Association (DEV) is founded as the successor to the German National Ice Skating Association and initially represents the interests of all ice sports in Germany up to the Second World War .

1911 The Swiss Ice Skating Association is founded. In addition to figure skating, he is also responsible for speed skating.

1945 After the Second World War, the DEV is dissolved and the successor is initially the German Ice and Roller Sport Working Group (DERAG) and later the German Working Group for Ice Sports (DAGE) .

In 1949 the DEV was re-established in Mannheim and its counterpart in 1954 was the German Ice Skating Association of the GDR (DELV)

In the course of time, the DEV increasingly loses its importance, since with the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB), the German Ice Skating Union (DEU), the German Speed ​​Skating Association (DESG), the German Ice Stock Association (DESV) and the German Curling Association (DCV) founded five individual sport associations and the work of the DEV is thus deprived of the basis.

1965 The German Speed ​​Skating Association (DESG) is founded. The founding president is Ludwig Schwabl .

1990 Dissolution of the DELV of the GDR.

Organizations and events

1869

  • Vienna: The first Vienna Ice Race will take place on January 24th. The winner of the main run for the Jockey Club Prize is the Prussian General Artur Graf Schlippenbach.

1872

  • Frankfurt: The first traditional speed skating competition in Germany will be held on January 2nd by the Frankfurt Ice Skating Club. The results have not been handed down.
  • Vienna: The first international ice sports day (art and speed running) will be held from January 5th to 7th, with only Austrian and German runners taking part. As in 1869, Graf Artur Schlippenbach, who was also the best German skater at the time, wins in fast running.

1884

  • Hamburg: The Hamburg ice skating club from 1881 and the ice skating club from Altona 1876 jointly announce the first international price ice skating for speed skating and art skating on the Heiligengeistfeld . Despite the high admission prices, tens of thousands of spectators are said to have attended the event.

1885

  • The second international fast run in Hamburg will be held again on the Heiligengeistfeld on January 18, and it will also be the first race in Germany with recorded results. The Norwegian Axel Paulsen wins the 3750 meter race.
  • Hamburg: the first Hamburg championship ends with a victory for Claus Hansen from the Hamburg ice skate club in 1881.

1886

  • Hamburg: After the two events in previous years, an "International Championship of Germany" will be announced for the first time on the Heiligengeistfeld on January 22nd and 23rd. One mile and the 3500 meters are run with a preliminary run and a final run. Once again, Axel Paulsen prevailed against competition from his own country, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.
  • Berlin: The first "Berlin Ice Skating Club 1886" is founded. After a dispute, some members split up and founded the "Eislaufverein Berlin"

1887

  • Hamburg: On 17./18. February ends the first (unofficial) German championship on the Heiligengeistfeld with the victory of JH Harms jr from Hamburg. He is the first German to set an unofficial 3000 meter world record with 7: 01.5 minutes; He wins over 1500 meters in 3: 21.5 minutes.

1889

  • Hamburg: The third unofficial German championships will take place on January 15th, and for the third time the winner is JH Harms jr.
  • Hamburg: Germany will have its first international match on January 17th and 18th. Opponents are the Netherlands, which celebrated a triple success on all four routes (half mile, whole mile and two times 2 miles) through Pander, Jurrjens and Couvée. The German master JH Harms jr. is the best German runner and will never appear again in a competition after this international competition.

1891

  • Munich: On January 17th, the first official German championship will be held on the Kleinhesseloher See . The Dane Emil Schou, who starts for the Berlin ice skating club, wins the title.

1892

  • Altona / Elbe : The new "Ice Rink an der Allee" (today's Max-Brauer-Allee in Altona ) opens and offers Altona and Hamburg residents good training and competition conditions for many years.

1894

  • Switzerland: The new natural ice rink in Davos , Switzerland , will be the fastest rink in the world for the next 70 years

1895

  • Berlin: The first German competition on a double track will take place on the Halensee on January 13th.

1897

  • Darmstadt: The first known women's race in Germany over 500 meters is held. The winner, M.Trümpert, needed 2: 07.6 minutes.

1907

  • Berlin: DEV introduces the 3000 meters as an official competition course

1950

  • Berlin: With the construction of the Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle in Berlin, there is an upswing in speed skating in the GDR.
  • Bad Reichenhall: The first championship after the founding of the Federal Republic is held. It ends with victories for Lilli Balg-Bauer and Bernd Geuer from Cologne

1953

  • Geising: the first GDR championship on the Hüttenteich ends with victories for Waltraud Thun-Scheunemann and Günter Samp from Berlin

1963

  • Berlin: The first 400-meter artificial ice rink in the GDR is opened.

1965

  • Inzell: The first 400-meter artificial ice rink in Germany opens.
  • Foundation of the DESG.

1969

  • Inzell: For the first time, a European championship will be held in Germany after the war.
  • Berlin: The GDR removes ice hockey from the sports funding program in favor of speed skating. Many trainers u. a. Joachim Franke then switched to speed skating.

1974

  • Chemnitz: The track in the Küchwald is opened, on which athletes from the GDR set numerous national records

1990

  • Inzell: For the first time after 1943 all-German champions are determined again, Markus Tröger from Nuremberg and Heike Warnicke from Erfurt secure the all-round title
Ice skater and painter Julius Seyler
Helmut Kuhnert

National and international success

1890

  • Amsterdam: Fritz Ahrendt (Hamburg) is the first German to take part in world championships.

1891

  • Amsterdam: First official world championship. August Underborg (Hamburg) is unofficially third in the World Cup.
  • Hamburg: The first European championship over the distances of half, a whole and over three English miles is carried out. August Underborg ensures the first German track win in an international championship over 3 miles

1896

1897

  • Amsterdam: Julius Seyler wins gold for Germany at the European Championship for the second time. After that, it will take 63 years until the next German gold medal.

1898

  • Davos: Julius Seyler wins the silver medal at the world championship, Wilhelm Sensburg (Munich) sets a new world record in the 1 hour race

1906

  • Munich: Julius Seyler returns to the German championships after an eleven-year break and wins the title a second time.

1910

  • Garmisch: Alfred Lauenburg secured his seventh German championship title in the all-around competition and has remained unbeaten at championships since 1901

1924

  • Helsinki: With the Berliner Hans Kleeberg jr. for the first time a German starts again at the World Championships

1930

  • Karpacz: Arthur Vollstedt secured his fourth German championship title a few days after his 38th birthday, making it the oldest German champion to date

1933

  • Oslo: The first (unofficial) women's world championship ends with the victory of Austrian Liselotte Landbeck

1935

  • Garmisch: The first (unofficial) German women's championship, Irmgard Sames (Berlin) wins.
  • Oslo: Irmgard Sames is the first German World Cup participant

1953

  • Oleg Goncharenko
    Oleg Georgievich Goncharenko was three-time world and two-time European champion in the all-around competition from 1953 to 1958

1956

  • Davos: At the World Championships in Switzerland, Cologne's Theo Meding is the first German athlete to compete in international championships after the war. He surprised with 11th place in the all-around competition and fourth place over 10,000 meters with a field of 31 participants.

1960

  • Davos: 63 years after Julius Seyler wins with Helmut Kuhnert (bronze); again a German speed skater a World Cup medal ; Helga Haase sets the first German world record of this century and also wins Olympic gold over 500 meters and silver over 1000 meters.

1963

1972

  • Medeo: Tamara Pirnasarowa set the national record at the national championships for women in the former USSR .

1974

  • Chemnitz: At the World Championships for women in Küchwald four German women make it into the top six, the title goes to Andrea Schöne, ahead of Karin Enke

1984

  • Deventer: At the World Championships, all medals go to the German women for the first time
  • Sarajevo: Christa Rothenburger wins the gold medal over 500 meters at the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo.

1985

  • Heerenveen: Christa Rothenburger becomes world champion in the sprint fourfight.

1988

  • Dresden: Karin Enke resigns as the most successful German speed skater to date. She won three Olympic victories in 1980 and 1984, as well as five further Olympic medals, eleven world championship titles in sprint and small four-way combat and ten world records on all distances from 500 to 3000 meters, 21 world cup victories and three times second place at European championships from 1981 to 1983 .
  • Calgary: Christa Rothenburger wins the gold medal over 1000 meters at the Olympic Winter Games.
  • West Allis: Christa Rothenburger becomes world champion in the sprint four-way fight.

2002

  • Claudia Pechstein is now with four Olympic victories in 1994, 1998 and 2002 as well as four other Olympic medals the most successful German winter Olympic athlete of all time.

2004

  • Seoul: Anni Friesinger secures her 100th title in the period 1980-2004 at the Olympics, World Championships and European Championships with gold over 1000 meters

2005

  • With eight Olympic medals (three gold, four silver, one bronze) from four games, 19 World Cup, 8 European Championship and 34 German championship titles, 99 individual distance and 19 overall victories in the World Cup as well as numerous second and third places, 18 world records and 11 Having held the unofficial record over 10,000 meters for women, Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann is considered to be the most successful speed skater of all time at the end of her career.

Ice skates

Frisian “doorlopers”: wooden ice skates with steel runners to buckle under; 19th century
English “Fen Runner” ice skates, 19th century
Clamp skates to screw onto the shoe

The first “ice skates” used for running competitions have nothing to do with shoes . There are devices that of a 2.5 to 5 millimeters thick Metallkufe exist, with a wooden and later metal are fixedly connected to holding plate. The retaining plate, in turn, has straps, pins or screw devices with which it can be fastened to the runner's foot or shoes. In England they were called "Fen Runner" after the competitions there, in Holland and Friesland as "doorlopers". The runners used at that time were relatively short and favored a running style in which one ran in an approximately upright position similar to today's ice hockey . This was particularly beneficial for athletic runners. These devices were used until the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Century used.

High shaft skates made by Strauss Skates, Inc., St. Paul, Minnesota, circa 1925
"Ballangruds Model" by Vang, Norway, 1960s

In 1890 the “Norwegian ice skates” are used for the first time, whose runners, which are fixed to the shoe, prove to be the much better solution. The runner blades are only 1.5 millimeters thick, and the barrel is slightly bulged towards the middle, so it forms a weak curve. In addition, the rail is extended more to the rear, which enables a better kick. This changes the running form to the "Scandinavian style", in which the push is carried out laterally to the rear and the supporting leg always remains crouched in the gliding phase. In order to keep the balance, the upper body has to be bent further forward at the same time, which leads to the synonym "crooked hump", which is sometimes used for speed skaters. This enables longer gliding phases and a more economical use of force. The later world class runner Alfred Lauenburg estimated that on a distance of 1500 meters a time gain of 8-10 seconds was possible with the Norwegian skates. These skates were used in slight variations (about the shaft height) until the invention of the folding ice skates.

Folding ice skate (2010)
Christine Nesbitt on folding skates. It can clearly be seen here how the tailbone can be stretched longer.
Normal ice skate and folding ice skate

The latest stage of development since 1996 has been the folding ice skate with a foldable runner at the front and a spring that pulls the runner towards the back of the shoe. At the end of the push-off phase, the heel can be lifted off and the forefoot can still exert pressure, while the runner remains parallel to the ice. This is particularly beneficial on long-haul routes.

clothing

Runner in the clothes customary until 1974

In the early days, clothing primarily had the function of protecting against the cold.

In the early competitions in the Fens of England (see above) there was a folkloric apparel that consisted of half-length, dark pants, stockings, light-colored sweaters and a black cap . The Norwegian athletes of the time also showed a slightly modified style with white sweaters and caps, but with tight-fitting and long trousers.

Streamlined: Karin Enke with a one-piece suit 1983

In the 20th century, woolen tights and tight-fitting sweaters and tight-fitting hats were worn. In 1974, the Swiss architect and runner Franz Krienbühl led aerodynamic considerations to design a one-piece, skin-tight suit. However, he was initially mocked in a rather amused manner. But when he himself was able to achieve eighth place with this suit at the 1976 Olympic Games at the age of 47, this attitude changed. Since then, aerodynamically optimized clothing has been worn in modern speed skating competitions.

While people originally walked in stockings or tights due to the climate, in elite sport they go barefoot in the optimally fitting ice skates, as this creates a better feeling of walking, which is crucial for maximum performance.

Competition venues

Bislett Stadium Oslo around 1925, in front the runner Clas Thunberg
The Davos ice rink in the 1920s
The 1700 meter high Medeo ice rink in Kazakhstan
Inzell ice skating stadium

Natural ice rinks

Naturally, the first ice skating competitions were held on natural ice, i.e. on frozen lakes and watercourses on which competition tracks were marked out. Norway, with its reliably frozen lakes every year, and the Netherlands, with its not so reliably freezing over, but wide-ranging canal system , found particularly good conditions for widespread ice skating. In other countries, suitable areas were first trampled on when the weather was cold enough and after sufficient snowfall and then flooded, which with a little luck would then freeze into an ice rink suitable for competitions ("syringe rink"). This was often the case , for example, on the Heiligengeistfeld in Hamburg between 1887 and the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Century practiced.

1883 Davos: The natural ice rink is built and has been the fastest competition rink in the world for 70 years.

1909 Kristiania : Opening of the Bislett Stadium

1951 Alma-Ata : The Medeo natural ice high mountain railway in what was then the Kazakh SSR opens and replaces Davos as the fastest railway in the world.

1959 With the rediscovery of the Frillensee as an ice skating location, the boom of Inzell as a speed skating stronghold begins

Open artificial ice rinks

1959 Gothenburg: The first artificial ice rink with a 400-meter track is built for the European Championship. The stadium holds 55,000 spectators.

1963 Berlin: First 400-meter artificial ice rink in the GDR

1961 Amsterdam: The Jaap-Eden-Bahn opens as the first 400-meter artificial ice rink in the Netherlands.

1965 Inzell: Construction of the Inzell ice stadium with a 400-meter artificial ice rink in the village itself.

1967 Opening of the Thialf ice stadium in Heerenveen as a 400-meter open-air artificial ice rink.

1971 The Medeo high mountain rink is converted into an artificial ice rink.

1974 Berlin: The Horst Dohm ice rink in Berlin-Wilmersdorf with a 400-meter track opens on November 29, 1974.

1987 Butte (Montana) : In the US American Butte in Montana , located 1,500 meters above sea ​​level, the local US High Altitude Speed ​​Skating Center creates an open high-mountain artificial ice rink. It is one of several venues during the Speed ​​Skating World Cup 1987/88 from November 28th to 29th, 1987, as well as national US championships thereafter. After 15 years of operation, there is considerable wear and tear on the cooling systems. In view of the current trend towards protected indoor facilities and due to a lack of interest and financing options, the ice-skating operation and the facility are then given up.

Indoor lanes

1983

1984

Sports forum Berlin-Hohenschönhausen
Indoor ice skating stadium Thialf in Heerenveen

1986

  • November 17th: The world's first pure 400-meter indoor speed skating rink opens in the Hohenschönhausen Sports Forum . It has 4000 seats.
  • November 18: The Thialf ice rink in Heerenveen opens as the second indoor speed skating rink in the world and has a capacity of 12,500 spectators.

1988

  • Calgary: Opening of the Olympic Oval for the 1988 Winter Olympics at an altitude of 1050 meters, which favors new records. The hall also holds 10,000 spectators.
Olympic Oval in Calgary
Gunda-Niemann-Stirnemann-Halle in Erfurt (aerial photo 2007)

1982-2001

  • Erfurt: The artificial ice rink, which has existed since 1957 and was used for both speed skating and ice hockey , is being converted into a 333-meter running track. In 1997 it was replaced by a 400-meter track. In 2001, after a year of construction, the facility, which was completely covered and equipped with 4000 spectator seats, was officially opened, named after the most successful Erfurt and German speed skater as the Gunda-Niemann-Stirnemann Hall .

2002

  • Salt Lake City: with the Utah Olympic Oval , which is almost 1,300 meters higher, Calgary is replaced as the fastest track in the world.

ISU and world championships

1889 Amsterdam : An informal world championship in speed skating is held for the first time.

1891 Hamburg: For the first time an informal European championship in speed skating is held, hosted by the Austrian and German ice sports associations .

1885 Leeuwarden : At the request of the British federation, an agreement is reached for the first time in Holland on the routes to be completed, a standard route of one mile (1609 meters) is agreed.

Association and rules

With the appearance of international competitions in both speed skating and figure skating, as well as the establishment of national associations, a need for international standards and rules arose.

1892 : In July 1892, the Dutch Ice Skating Club convenes a meeting for all countries interested in international ice skating competitions. This is followed by the congress in Scheveningen . July the International Ice Skating Association (IEV), later the ISU , is founded. The founding members are 15 European countries.

1892 : The IEV introduces the rule for walking in pairs.

1893 : The IEV introduces the metric routes, 500, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 meters are prescribed for world championships. At the European Championship, the 10,000 meters are not yet run

World Championship 1971, video * Atje Keulen-Deelstra (NED) wins the 500 meters ahead of Tuula Vilkas (FIN) * Over 1500 meters, Keulen-Deelstra has to give up against Ludmilla Titowa (URS) * Stien Kaiser wins over 3000 meters ahead of Nina Statkevitsj (URS)

Berlin: The first official European championships under the direction of the IEV are held.

1894 : Canada joins the ISU for the first time outside of Europe.

1910 : IEV: Introduction of the number system in all-around competitions, the titles are now awarded to the athletes with the lowest number of places in the four all-round courses

1925 : ISU: Introduction of a point system in all-around competitions

1954 : ISU: The women's 5000 meters are removed from the official competition program

1983 : ISU: The women’s 5000 meters are again an official competition course

2002 : ISU: The quartet start is permitted for running distances from 1500 meters . The announcement was made on June 17, 2002 at the ISU Congress in Kyoto.

2011 : ISU: The mass start is allowed on the long distances .

World championships

  • For men, under the direction of the IEV or ISU, world championships in four-way or all-round all-round competitions have been held every year since 1893, and the same for women since 1933. There were interruptions in this sequence during the two world wars.

Unofficial championships were held for men as early as 1889 and for women from 1933.

  • Since 1970, sprint all-around world championships over 500 and 1000 meters have been held annually for both men and women.
  • Individual distance world championships have been held every year for men and women since 1996.
    • The disciplines for men are 500, 1000, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 meters as well as the team pursuit.
    • The disciplines for women are 500, 1000, 1500, 3000 and 5000 meters as well as the team pursuit.

The championship will be held together for women and men at the same locations from 1996 onwards.

The German Gunda Niemann is the most successful World Cup participant with eight gold medals. The Finn Clas Thunberg and the Norwegian Oscar Mathisen are the most successful men with five gold medals. The Netherlands leads the nation ranking with 41 gold medals.

Speed ​​skating at the Winter Olympics

Overview

  • Speed ​​skating competitions were planned for the first Winter Olympics in 1924, but initially only for men over the running distances of 500, 1500, 5000 and 10,000 meters. In the first winter games there is also an all-around competition, but this is not repeated in the following games.
  • In 1932, the Lake Placid Games hosted demonstration competitions for women over the 500, 1000 and 1500 meters. The field of starters comprised 10 athletes from the USA and Canada. It will then take another 28 years for women's competitions to become a regular part of the Winter Games.
  • The 53rd IOC session in Melbourne in 1956 decided to permanently include women's competitions in the program of the Winter Olympics. In 1960, regular women's competitions were held for the first time in Squaw Valley. The women's running distances are 500, 1000, 1500 and 3000 meters.
  • At the 1976 Games in Innsbruck, the 1000 meters were added to the program as an additional competition for men and in 1988 for women, the 5000-meter running course.
  • In 2006, the team tracking competition will be added to the program for both women and men.
Clas Thunberg in Chamonix 1924
Julius Skutnabb
St. Moritz, Winter Olympics 1928

Single games

1924

1928

  • St.Moritz: In the Badrutts-Park ice rink, there are again only four running routes for men. Due to the bad weather, the competition over 10,000 meters is also canceled. The gold medal over 500 meters is shared by the Norwegian Bernt Evensen and the Finn Clas Thunberg , third place is shared by three runners from different countries with the same time. Clas Thunberg now wins over 1500 meters ahead of Bent Evensen and his compatriot Ivar Ballangrud . The latter in turn wins over 5000 meters ahead of the Finns Julius Skutnabb and Bernt Evensen.
  • For the first time, German and Austrian speed skaters are taking part in the Olympic Games with Arthur Vollstedt (Hamburg), Erhard Mayke (Munich) and Fritz Jungblut (Vienna).
  • Result list: Olympic Winter Games 1928 / speed skating

1932

  • Lake Placid : Four competitions for men will be held on a natural ice rink. There are mass starts where the runners from Europe have almost no chance.
  • In front of a home crowd, John Shea and Irving Jaffee share the four gold medals. The Canadians involved won one silver medal and four bronzes. Only the Norwegians Ivar Ballangrud and Bernt Evensen can slide between the Americans with a silver medal each.
  • In addition, three running track competitions for women were held as a demonstration competition. The field of starters comprised 10 athletes from the USA and Canada .
  • Result list: 1932 Winter Olympics / speed skating

1936

1948

1952

1956

1960

  • Squaw Valley : The speed skating competitions will be held for the first time on an artificial ice rink and with regular competitions for women. For the men, Norwegians and Russians share most of the first and second places, and for the women, Helga Haase won Olympic speed skating gold for the first time and a silver medal for the all-German team . In the three other races besides the sprint course won by Helga Haase, Russian runners win.
  • Result list: 1960 Winter Olympics / speed skating
1968: The first three women in the 3,000-meter run, from left: Kaija Mustonen (2nd place), Ans Schut (1st place), Stien Kaiser (3rd place)
Erhard Keller

1964

1968

1972

1976

1980

  • Lake Placid : For the last time at the Olympic Winter Games, the competitions will be held here on an open-air ice rink.
  • Eric Heiden wins all five gold medals of the men's competitions in front of his home crowd and sets a new Olympic record on all routes .
  • In the women's race, Karin Enke (GDR) wins the gold medal over 500 meters. All in all, women runners from the GDR finished eight times in the top six in all four races of this Olympiad.
Andrea Schöne, Gabi Zange, Karin Enke and Sabine Brehm at the 1983 Women's World Championships

1984

1988

1992

  • Albertville: The team of the now unified Germany shows itself - exclusively with the runners of the former GDR - as once again the most successful team with now 5 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals from 10 running competitions, 8 of them for women alone.
  • Result list: Olympic Winter Games 1992 / speed skating

1994

  • Lillehammer : The outstanding runner here is the Norwegian Johann Olav Koss , who achieved first place in front of a home crowd on three courses, each with a world record, and was declared a national hero. The mostly East German runners, who are used to success, feel the effects of the changed social conditions in reunified Germany for the first time and this time only come in fourth in the national ranking, but with the most medals. Only Claudia Pechstein wins a gold of the medals won exclusively by women.
  • Result list: Olympic Winter Games 1994 / speed skating

1998

2002

  • Salt Lake City : The Netherlands, Germany and the USA turn out to be the dominant nations this time with 3 gold medals each and 8 medals each. The remaining six of 30 medals are shared by Canada, Norway and Japan. The field of nations that have made it into the medal ranks shrinks to six.
  • Result list: Olympic Winter Games 2002 / speed skating

2006

Modern competitive situation (2008)

2010

Sochi 2014: The all-Dutch winner's podium after the 1500 meter run

2014

literature

  • Handbook Of Fen Skating (1882) by Neville Goodman and Albert Goodman Kessinger Publishing, LLC (August 18, 2008), ISBN 978-1-4369-3747-4
  • Speed ​​Skating by Larry Dane Brimner, Children's Press (CT) (October 1997), ISBN 978-0-516-26206-2
  • Welney Division: History of the Smart Family - Speed ​​Skating Champions in the Golden Age of Fen Skating by Hilary A. Winter, Spindrift Print & Publishing (September 1994), ISBN 978-1-898762-03-4
  • The skaters of the Fens by Alan Bloom (Heffer - 1957)

Individual evidence

Sources for the data and names, unless otherwise stated: 2009 German Speed ​​Skating Association (with copyright notice "Non-commercial providers can freely use the texts provided the source is indicated .")

  1. ↑ a b Kortebaanschaatsen in the Dutch language Wikipedia
  2. ↑ a b English WP, Fen Skating
  3. ↑ a b c d e DER SPIEGEL 6/1966 "Millions for medals"
  4. ^ History of ice skating in Austria ( Memento from August 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ "Ice rink on the avenue" with historical track records on Speedskating News
  6. ↑ Urlaub-im-web.de ( Memento of the original from October 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.urlaub-im-web.de
  7. ↑ Info Horst-Dohm-Eisstadion
  8. ↑ Speed ​​skating's forgotten Mecca, 2010 ( Memento of the original from May 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 4, 2012  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / i.nbcolympics.com
  9. ↑ cnn.com, Bob Ottum: "Now Bring On The Torch" ( Memento of 9 February 2009 at the Internet Archive ) in Sports Illustrated, March 14, 1983
  10. ↑ Quartet starts from 2002, speed skating news
  11. Jump up ↑ 2011 mass start speed skating at eurosport.yahoo.com
  12. ↑ Sports Reference

See also

Historical development of the world record times
Women 500 m 1000 m 1500 m 3000 m 5000 m
Men 500 m 1000 m 1500 m 3000 m 5000 m 10,000 m
Results of the Winter Olympics
1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980
1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010
List of world speed skating champions
Women All-round all-around Sprint all-around Single routes
Men All-round all-around Sprint all-around Single routes