1964 Winter Olympics / speed skating

Speed ​​skating at the 1964 Winter Olympics
information
venue	innsbruck
Competition venue	Olympic speed skating rink
Nations	22nd
Athletes	134 (91 , 43 )
date	January 30 - February 6, 1964
decisions	8th
← Squaw Valley 1960 Grenoble 1968 →

With the IX. At the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck , eight speed skating competitions were held. The venue was the Olympic speed skating rink .

Balance sheet

Olympic ice stadium

Medal table

space	country				total
1	Soviet Union	5	5	2	12
2	Norway	1	3	3	7th
3	Sweden	1	-	-	1
	United States	1	-	-	1
5	Finland	-	1	1	2
6th	Netherlands	-	1	-	1
	North Korea	-	1	-	1

Medalist

Men competitor gold silver bronze 500 m Richard McDermott Alv Gjestvang Yevgeny Grishin Vladimir Orlov - 1500 m Ants Antson Kees Verkerk Villy Haugen 5000 m Knut Johannesen Per Ivar Moe Fred Anton Maier 10,000 m Jonny Nilsson Fred Anton Maier Knut Johannesen

Women competitor gold silver bronze 500 m Lidija Skoblikova Irina Yegorova Tatiana Sidorova 1000 m Lidija Skoblikova Irina Yegorova Kaija Mustonen 1500 m Lidija Skoblikova Kaija Mustonen Albertina Kolokolzewa 3000 m Lidija Skoblikova Valentina Stenina Han Pil-hwa -

preview

The preview of Sport Zürich in its January 29, 1964 edition assumed that all four men's competitions were completely open. Various favorites ( Yevgeny Grischin , Jonny Nilsson ) have not yet revealed their cards, others such as the new Soviet 1,500 meter champion Lev Saizew and the US sprinters would compete without prior international tests. Due to the quality of the ice (the water used in the preparation contains too much lime) and the Olympic track with a headwind on the straight, it would hardly be possible to set world records. There will also be no supremacy, especially the recent European Championships in Oslo had shown that many favorites could not prevail. The world class has become so broad that a small technical error or a slight indisposition could call the most thorough and extensive preparation into question.

The difference in climatic conditions also does not allow comparisons between Oslo and Innsbruck. Even the ten days that lie between competitions could be decisive. Only those who are on the current leaderboards would be able to become Olympic champions. In the case of Grischin, it is likely that his compatriots Rafael Gratsch and Wladimir Orlow would be his greatest competitors along with one of the US runners ( Bill Disney , Eddie Rudolph , Tom Gray and Richard McDermott ). The two Swedes Heike Hedlund and Björn Lekman are outsiders . Over 1500 meters, Grischin will start without a chance, Saizew is the logical favorite. Names like Ants Antson and two gentlemen who were obviously not taken into account, Juri Jumasjev and Voronin, as well as Dick Hunt , Stan Fail and Buddy Campbell or Manne Lavås , Jonny Nilsson and Hedlund, plus Rudie Liebrechts and Günter Traub were named. Over 5000 and 10,000 meters, Nilsson is the man to be beaten. Medal contenders are also the Norwegians Knut Johannesen , Per Ivar Moe and Fred Anton Maier , the Soviets Ants Antson, Juri Jumasjev and Eduard Matussewitsch , as well as the Dutch Liebrechts and Kees Verkerk and the Swedes Ivar Nilsson and Örjan Sandler . With the women it was clearly stated that the Soviet women (at their head Lidija Skoblikova ) will receive the majority of the medals. There are also certain opportunities for US starter Jeanne Ashworth and Swede Gunilla Jacobsson on the short distances .

Results men

500 m

space	country	athlete	Time (s)
1	United States	Richard McDermott	40.1 ( OR )
2	NOR	Alv Gjestvang	40.6
	URS	Vladimir Orlov	40.6
	URS	Yevgeny Grishin	40.6
5	JPN	Keiiti Suzuki	40.7
6th	United States	Eddie Rudolph	40.9
7th	SWE	Heike Hedlund	41.0
8th	United States	Bill Disney	41.1
9	NOR	Villy Haugen	41.1
10	URS	Rafael Gratsch	41.4
16	EUA	Helmut Kuhnert	41.8
24	EUA	Herbert Höfl	42.3
	EUA	Günther Tilch
33	EUA	Günter Traub	43.4
35	AUT	Manfred Zojer	43.5
36	AUT	Peter Toyfl	43.7
43	CHE	Jean-Pierre Guéron	44.9

Yevgeny Grishin

Date: February 4, 1964, 12:40 p.m.
44 participants from 19 countries, all in the ranking.

After twelve years, another US athlete won Olympic gold in speed skating. For the time being, Grischin, Orlow and Gjestvang were in the lead. McDermott undercut Grischin's 1960 Olympic record by a tenth of a second. He benefited from the improved conditions: Fumio Nagakobu fell in front of him and damaged the timing system, which took around ten minutes to repair. By now the sun had come through and made the ice faster. However, the waiting time was also a test of nerves, the logical consequence was a false start at the first start with André Kouprianoff (FRA). Grishin presented himself as the unmatched stylist while McDermott did it mostly with force. He even got out of rhythm once in the first 100 m. Grischin came right to the edge of the track in the curve, which cost valuable time. Gjestvang, who had already won bronze over the same distance in 1956, made a final spurt. Bill Disney (USA) (Olympic silver 1960) had expected a lot , but he finished with 41.1 s. stopped. The first starter was the world record holder Tom Gray (USA), who finished in a moderate 41.5 s. came to the finish.

1500 m

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	URS	Ants Antson	2: 10.3
2	NED	Kees Verkerk	2: 10.6
3	NOR	Villy Haugen	2: 11.2
4th	FIN	Jouko Launonen	2: 11.9
5	URS	Lev Saizew	2: 12.1
6th	URS	Eduard Matusewitsch	2: 12.2
	NOR	Ivar Eriksen	2: 12.2
8th	FIN	Juhani Järvinen	2: 12.4
9	NOR	Magne Thomassen	2: 12.5
10	NED	Rudie Liebrechts	2: 12.8
17th	EUA	Günter Traub	2: 15.3
26th	EUA	Herbert Höfl	2: 16.8
29	EUA	Gerhard Zimmermann	2: 17.3
33	AUT	Hermann Strutz	2: 18.0
39	EUA	Jürgen Schmidt	2: 20.0
44	SUI	Ruedi Uster	2: 23.4
48	AUT	Peter Toyfl	2: 24.2
51	AUT	Josef Reisinger	2: 27.8
53	SUI	Jean-Pierre Guéron	2: 32.3

Date: February 6, 1964, 1:15 p.m.
54 participants from 20 countries, 53 of them in the valuation.

About 10,000 spectators had gathered in cloudy weather. The air temperature was −2 ° C, that of the ice −2.5 ° C. The Olympic record of 2: 08.6 minutes was never in danger because the ice rink was too hard. In addition, a strong wind swept at times, combined with blowing snow. Some of the world-class stars started quickly, but from the third lap they collapsed. With European champion Antson, who had entered the race in the eighth pair with the German Traub and who drove the most rationally, one of the favorites won gold, but then blatant outsiders classified themselves. Verkerk noted the same split times as Antson, but he ran out of strength in the last 50 meters, and with Haugen (fastest start times) the sequence of steps became too cramped. Liebrechts and Grischin had no chance at all on their runs because of the gusts of wind. Only the Launonen / Malkin couple, who achieved great times for their level of performance, found regular relationships.

5000 m

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	NOR	Knut Johannesen	7: 38.4 ( OR )
2	NOR	Per Ivar Moe	7: 38.6
3	NOR	Fred Anton Maier	7: 42.0
4th	URS	Viktor Kosichkin	7: 45.8
5	AUT	Hermann Strutz	7: 48.3
6th	SWE	Jonny Nilsson	7: 48.4
7th	SWE	Ivar Nilsson	7: 49.0
8th	NED	Rudie Liebrechts	7: 50.9
9	NED	Kees Verkerk	7: 51.1
10	URS	Musachid Chabibulin	7: 52.3
11	EUA	Günter Traub	7: 53.9
13	EUA	Gerhard Zimmermann	7: 56.8
32	SUI	Ruedi Uster	8: 24.8
37	AUT	Reinhold Seeböck	8: 29.6
39	EUA	Jürgen Schmidt	8: 36.6
40	SUI	Peter Büttner	8: 45.5
42	AUT	Gerhard Strutz	8: 50.4

Date: February 5, 1964, 1:50 p.m.
42 participants from 19 countries, all in the ranking.

It was surprising not only that there was a triple Norwegian success, but also that the USSR went without a medal and their 1960 gold medalist finished only fourth. The Olympic record of 1960 was beaten by six runners thanks to ideal conditions. Hermann Strutz set several Austrian records and also a new Olympic record. It was followed by Viktor Kosichkin, then the 19-year-old electrician Per Ivar Moe, who already made people sit up and take notice with interim best times. World record holder Johnny Nilsson started more slowly than Strutz at first, turned up on the seventh of twelve laps, but slowed down again. Fred Anton Meier started vehemently, he stayed just behind Moe. Knut Johanessen, who has already been decorated with medals several times, literally flew over the track. Of the favorites, Rudie Liebrechts was still missing, who started quickly, but then fell back more and more.

10,000 m

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	SWE	Jonny Nilsson	15: 50.1
2	NOR	Fred Anton Maier	16: 06.0
3	NOR	Knut Johannesen	16: 06.3
4th	NED	Rudie Liebrechts	16: 08.6
5	URS	Ants Antson	16: 08.7
6th	URS	Viktor Kositschkin	16: 19.3
7th	EUA	Gerd Zimmermann	16: 22.5
8th	GBR	Terry Malkin	16: 35.2
9	THE	Kurt silence	16: 38.3
10	SWE	Ivar Nilsson	16: 40.3
11	AUT	Hermann Strutz	16: 42.6
19th	EUA	Günter Traub	16: 58.4
21st	EUA	Jürgen Traub	17: 08.9
29	SUI	Ruedi Uster	17: 23.4

Date: February 7, 1964, 5:00 p.m.
33 participants from 19 countries, all in the ranking.

In front of over 7,000 spectators, starting runner Johnny Nilsson benefited from the excellent conditions. He needed almost 38 seconds for the 400 meter lap and was just short of the Olympic record that Knut Johannesen had set four years ago. The first ice cleaning occurred after the fifth pair, but this turned out to be a disadvantage for the next starters. It was no coincidence that seven of the top ten ran in the top five pairs. The Johannesen, who was now his turn, was affected and the wind was blowing towards him. The Norwegians were the most disadvantaged, although not only Johannesen, but also Maier, who ran much later, would have undercut Nilsson's time. Strutz also had no chance despite the Austrian record and did not meet the high expectations. Actually, nobody thought of a shift in the ranking when, after four and a half hours, the Norwegian Fred Anton Maier caught his compatriot Johanessen by three tenths of a second and took second place.

Results women

500 m

space	country	sportswoman	Time (s)
1	URS	Lidija Skoblikova	45.0 ( OR )
2	URS	Irina Yegorova	45.4
3	URS	Tatiana Sidirova	45.5
4th	United States	Jeanne Ashwoth	46.2
	United States	Janice Smith
6th	SWE	Gunilla Jacobsson	46.5
7th	United States	Mary Lawler	46.6
8th	EUA	Helga Haase	47.2
9	SWE	Inger Eriksson	47.3
10	CAN	Doreen Ryan	47.7
21st	EUA	Brigitte Reichert	49.8
25th	EUA	Sigrit Behrenz	50.9

Date: January 30, 1964, 12:25 p.m.
28 participants from 13 countries, all in the ranking.

The competition was held under ideal external conditions (ice temperature −3 ° C, air temperature +2 ° C). All medal winners beat Haase's 1960 record (45.9 s). Not the Finns, as expected, but the US-Americans turned out to be the toughest rivals of the top three.

1000 m

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	URS	Lidija Skoblikova	1: 33.2 ( OR )
2	URS	Irina Yegorova	1: 34.3
3	FIN	Kaija Mustonen	1: 34.8
4th	EUA	Helga Haase	1: 35.7
5	URS	Valentina Stenina	1: 36.0
6th	SWE	Gunilla Jacobsson	1: 36.5
7th	United States	Jan Smith	1: 36.7
8th	FIN	Kaija-Liisa Keskivitikka	1: 37.6
9	SWE	Inger Eriksson	1: 37.8
10	United States	Barb Lockhart	1: 38.6
23	EUA	Erika Heinicke	1: 43.2
25th	EUA	Brigitte Reichert	1: 44.9

Medal winners of the 1000-meter run

Date: February 1, 1964, 12:15 p.m.
28 participants from 14 countries, 27 of them in the evaluation.

Skoblikova made the most of the last lap after getting off to a weaker start. Helga Haase has been greatly improved. The ice conditions were again good.

1500 m

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	URS	Lidija Skoblikova	2: 22.6 ( OR )
2	FIN	Kaija Mustonen	2: 25.5
3	URS	Albertina Kolokolzewa	2: 27.1
4th	PRK	Kim Song-soon	2: 27.7
5	EUA	Helga Haase	2: 28.6
6th	SWE	Christina Scherling	2: 29.4
7th	URS	Valentina Stenina	2: 29.9
8th	FIN	Kaija-Liisa Keskivitikka	2: 30.0
9	PRK	Han Pil-hwa	2: 30.0
10	JPN	Hatsue Nagakubo	2: 30.9
21st	EUA	Inge Lieckfeldt	2: 36.2
28	EUA	Erika Heinicke	2: 40.4

Date: January 31, 1964, 12:30 p.m.
30 participants from 14 countries, all rated.

Skoblikova had divided the race very well, hadn't started too quickly, but improved with expansive steps. If she hadn't made a step mistake in the second lap, she could have been even faster. Mustonen, too, had organized her marching table well. Haase, on the other hand, ran tense and was not in the best of shape.

3000 m

space	country	athlete	Time (min)
1	URS	Lidija Skoblikova	5: 14.9
2	URS	Valentina Stenina	5: 18.5
	PRK	Han Pil-hwa
4th	URS	Klara Nesterova	5: 22.5
5	FIN	Kaija Mustonen	5: 24.3
6th	JPN	Hatsue Nagakubo	5: 25.4
7th	PRK	Kim Song-soon	5: 25.9
8th	CAN	Doreen McCannell	5: 26.4
9	SWE	Christina Scherling	5: 27.6
10	FIN	Kaija-Liisa Keskivitikka	5: 29.4
17th	EUA	Rita Blankenburg	5: 40.8
21st	EUA	Inge Lieckfeldt	5: 42.7
28	EUA	Erika Heinicke	5: 56.0

Date: February 2, 1964, 1:25 p.m.
28 participants from 13 countries, all in the ranking.

6,000 spectators saw the expected victory of the favorite Skoblikova, who thus won her sixth gold medal. The last started North Korean Han Pil-hwa caused a sensation, who also achieved silver with the same time as Valentina Stenina. The ice conditions were different due to the warm weather. After the fourth pair it got softer and slower, after pair 10 it got harder again. Han Pil-hwa benefited greatly from this.

Web links

Commons : Speed ​​Skating at the 1964 Winter Olympics  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Speed ​​skating at the 1964 Winter Olympics in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Official report of the Olympic Winter Games 1964 (PDF; 21.1 MB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Sport Zürich, January 29, 1964.
2. ↑ "Sun helped Americans get sensational gold". In: Kurier Wien, February 5, 1964, p. 9.
3. ^ "Gold for the fastest hairdresser in the world". In: Kleine Zeitung Graz, February 5, 1964, p. 14.
4. ↑ «E. Grishin Gone with the Wind ». In: Kronen-Zeitung, February 7, 1964, p. 17.
5. ^ "1 medal each for the USSR, Holland and Norway". In: Kleine Zeitung Graz, February 7, 1964, p. 16.
6. ↑ «Exciting until the last second». In: Kleine Zeitung Graz, February 8, 1964, p. 12.
7. ↑ Grandioser Strutz finished fifth. In: Courier Vienna. February 6, 1964, p. 8.
8. ↑ Hermann Strutz sensational fifth - better than the Olympic record. In: Kronen-Zeitung. February 6, 1964, p. 18.
9. ↑ Undercut the Olympic record six times. In: Kleine Zeitung Graz. February 6, 1964, p. 15.
10. ↑ "10,000 m: Golden start number 1". In: Kurier Wien, February 8, 1964, p. 8.
11. ^ "Johnny Nilsson: First with number 1". In: Kronen-Zeitung, February 8, 1964, p. 18.
12. ^ "Sweden's world champion also Olympic champion". In: Kleine Zeitung Graz, February 8, 1964, p. 15.
13. ^ "A triple Soviet victory". In: Kronen-Zeitung, January 31, 1964, p. 17.
14. ↑ «3. Gold medal for Skoblikova (USSR) ». In: Kleine Zeitung Graz, February 2, 1964, p. 16.
15. ↑ «Skoblikova has 2 golds». In: Kurier Wien, February 1, 1964, p. 9.
16. ^ "Second gold medal for Russian Skoblikova". In: Kleine Zeitung Graz, February 1, 1964, p. 14.
17. ↑ "North Korean caused a real sensation". In: Kleine Zeitung, February 4, 1964, p. 19.