ISU

It’s called the Race of the Kings and it’s lived up to its reputation in the past. The men’s 1500m is a guarantee for exciting competition. Specialists must combine raw sprinting speed with the stamina of an endurance rider to get it right.

Ireen Wüst took her fifth Oympic title and her tenth Olympic medal to become the most decorated speed skater in history on Monday.

Miho Takagi (JPN) set an immaculate 1500m World Cup streak so far this season. The 23-year-old Japanese skater is the woman to beat when it comes to the middle distance this season, but the competition is tough.

Sven Kramer (NED) has re-written the history books of Speed Skating again. The 31-year-old Dutchman skated a new Olympic record in 6:09.76, to become the first speed skater to win three consecutive Olympic 5000m titles.

From a phone call in early 2017 to an Olympic title in February 2018. Carlijn Achtereekte’s (NED) 3000m gold was unexpected, but the Dutch skater had a plan and stuck to it. After having swapped from team to team for several years, Achtereekte felt that she had never lived up to her real potential and she decided to call Jac Orie (NED), coach of the successful trade team of, among others, Sven Kramer (NED). 

Ted-Jan Bloemen (CAN) broke Sven Kramer’s (NED) 5000m world record in Salt Lake City (USA) last December, to set up a great Olympic rivalry for the long distances in men’s Speed Skating. On Sunday February 11th it’s showdown in the PyeongChang 5000m race.

The Netherlands grabbed the first three long track Speed Skating medals of PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games, sweeping the podium in the ladies’ 3000m. 

The Olympic Cauldron was lit by 2010 Olympic gold medalist and Korean super star Figure Skater Kim Yuna on Friday marking the start of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. 

The Speed Skating tournament at PyeongChang 2018 starts with an exciting clash of generations in the ladies’ 3000m. 31-year-old Ireen Wüst (NED) and 30-year-old Martina Sáblíková (CZE) shared the past three Olympic 3000m gold medals between them. Wüst won in Torino 2006, Sáblíková in Vancouver 2010 and in Sochi 2014 it was Wüst again, but this season Miho Takagi (JPN) and Antoinette de Jong (NED) knocked on the door.

Athletes from all around the world will compete at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and each one has a story to tell. Five inline prodigies who recently switched to Speed Skating with an ISU Development Transition program, qualified for PyeongChang 2018.

In a prelude to the Olympic Speed Skating season Joey Mantia (USA) won last year’s World Mass Start title at the Gangneung Oval in South Korea. It was his first world title on ice, but the Florida born athlete already won multiple world titles in inline skating before he turned to the ice in 2011.

The International Skating Union is happy to introduce its special correspondents for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

Sang-Hwa Lee has not found the true speed just yet this season. The twofold Olympic 500m champion and world record holder is not worried however.

“I literally owe my life to speed skating,” says Laurent Dubreuil. Both his father and mother were Olympic speed skaters back in 1988 and 1992.

Ivanie Blondin (CAN) won her career first gold medal racing over a classic speed skating distance when she triumphed in the ladies 3000m in four minutes, 4.86 seconds in Erfurt on Sunday.