Speed Skating has been an event in the Winter Olympics for about 90 years. The sport first featured in the Winter Olympics of 1924, in Chamonix, France. Although speed skating made its Olympic debut in 1924, this sport had been around for a much longer time.
History of Speed Skating
Speed skating was created over one thousand years ago, originating from Scandinavia, Northern Europe, and the Netherlands. In the 1600's, its popularity spread and was noticed as a fun pastime rather than a way to travel. Among the earliest pioneers of speed skating were the Dutch, who first skated across frozen lakes and rivers as a mode of transportation, but later viewed it as a sport and something to boast about. When the hobby got across the channel to England, clubs, rinks, and races began appearing. According to Olympic.org, the earliest reported skating competition occurred in the Netherlands, in 1676, while the first official speed skating competition was held in Oslo, Norway during the year 1863. The Skating Club of Edinburgh was established in 1642 and is noted as the first official skating club. Speed skating's popularity spread to other countries, where they further developed the sport and its equipment. Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and other European countries took to the sport. It was though of as the national sport for Europe and was a prominent ice sport in Holland. Speed skating's popularity continued to grow and is still prominent today. History of the Equipment
The equipment used for speed skating definitely did not start out as the sleek and modern wear that one would see today. As the sport spread, other countries developed their own skates and clothes. The Dutch and other peoples started skating with nothing but carved and polished bone for skates. This led to using extremely waxed wood for skates in the fourteenth century. Since neither of these had a sharp blade, a pole would be used to propel one across a frozen lake or river. Also around the year 1400, wooden soled skates with metal blades are mentioned in Holland. The first pair of all iron skates was created by a Scottish innovator in the year 1572. In 1850, a man living in Philadelphia by the name of E.W. Bushnell invented skates make entirely of steel that would not dull until months after and were lighter and stronger than iron. This innovation led on to hockey skates used today as well as the sport of figure skating. |
Winter Olympic Speed Skating
The sport of speed skating made its debut to the Olympics in the 1924 Winter Olympics, in Chamonix France. The only Games in which speed skating has not premiered were the Winter Olympics of 1940, when World War II was being fought. The Chamonix Olympics (held from January 25, 1924 to February 5, 1924) was the first ever Winter Olympic Games, not including the Nordic Games. The Nordic Games was a competition including only winter sports that began in 1901 and held in Stockholm, Sweden. Seven of the eight Nordic Games were held in Stockholm, Sweden, while just the second (in 1903) was moved to Oslo, Norway. Although speed skating was one of the six sports featured at the 1924 Winter Olympic Games, women were not permitted to compete as the men did. It was only in 1936 that a women's speed skating competition was shown as a demonstration event at the Lake Placid, New York Winter Olympics. Even further, it was not accepted as a featured event until the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. In 2006, team pursuit speed skating was introduced to the Winter Olympics, in Turin, Italy. Both men and women's team pursuit races were featured, without it needing to be a demonstration event first. All games since 1924, have included the 500 meter race History of Short Track
Short track speed skating is slightly different from the regular speed skating. It developed in the U.S. and Canada in 1905 and spread to other countries that also enjoyed speed skating such as Great Britain, Japan, France, Belgium, and Australia. Short track was first introduced to the Winter Olympics in the 1988 Calgary, Canada Games as a demonstration event. Finally, in the Albertville, France Winter Olympic Games of 1992, short track speed skating became an official event. |
Past Winners and Records
Here are a couple of the most famous speed skaters from the Olympics and their records.
Here are a couple of the most famous speed skaters from the Olympics and their records.