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How It Plays Venue 1998 Golds Critical Moment

Nuts & Bolts History Schedule

Outlook Looking Back at Nagano Gold Medalists

Venues: The Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, about 14 miles from the center of Salt Lake City, is the highest-altitude speed skating oval in the world at 4,675 feet above sea level. It can hold more than 6,000 spectators.

KRT

Critical Moment: As they speed around the double track, centrifugal force pushes the skaters outward. To make the skating conditions and length the same for all competitors, skaters are required to race twice: once in the inner lane, and once in the outer lane.

Nuts & Bolts: Speedskating is the fastest an individual can move under his own power, with speeds reaching as much as 40 miles per hour. In speedskating, the competitors skate against the clock, although they race in pairs, and use long, graceful and powerful strides around a 400-meter double track. They are required to change lanes in the back straightaway of each lap. The skater on the outside is considered to have the right of way.

The sport of speedskating was turned upside down in 1998 because of the slapskate, a small but expensive mechanical device, a bolt-and-hinge mechanism that allows a skate blade to disconnect briefly from a skater's boot thereby prolonging the blade's contact with the ice and increasing the skater's pushing capacity, showed up in world-class

Photo Courtesy of Easton Sports

speedskating in 1997 on the feet of women from the Netherlands and quickly caught on among top males. As the blade comes back in contact with the heel of the boot, it makes a clacking sound, a distinct departure from the whispering brush of traditional skates.

"Instead of just having the toe part of your skate working on the ice, you have the whole blade to work with," says former U.S. speedskater KC Boutiette. "It means your motion is more economical and you go faster."

In order to profit as much as possible from each` stride, skaters crouch so that their stomachs and thighs are almost touching. In addition, they wear special skintight, hooded suits, which cover the skater from head to toe in one piece, to minimize wind resistance.

History: Skates probably were developed about 3,000 years ago in Scandinavia, and early skates were made of polished bone, wood and then metal. In the Netherlands, skating served as a way to travel over the canals in winter, and iron-bladed skates were recorded there as early as 1250.

Holland is considered the birthplace of modern speed skating, and the Dutch skating association is the forerunner of the International Skating Union (ISU).

By the 18th century, the popularity of speedskating had spread across northern Europe. The first known speedskating club was the Skating Club of Edinburgh, in Scotland, and the first speedskating competition is thought to be a 15-mile race held in England in 1763. Shortly thereafter, competitions sprang up across northern Europe, with the skaters, mostly made up of laborers, being judged by the aristocrats, who themselves were partial to the sport of figure skating.

In the United States, the first speedskating club was started in Philadelphia in 1849. The sport was adopted in New York and Washington shortly thereafter. In 1850, E.W. Bushnell of Philadelphia made the first all-steel skate, which did not require frequent sharpening, revolutionizing the sport.

The first world championship was held in the Netherlands in 1889, and brought together the Dutch, Russian, American and English champions. Long-track speedskating, known in current skating circles as "speed" to distinguish it from short track, has been a part of the Olympic program since the first Winter Games in Chamonix Mont-Blanc in 1924. Originally only men participated, but women's events were included in the 1960 Squaw Valley Games.

KRT Photo

Speedskater Charles Jewtraw (pictured) of Lake Placid, N.Y., won the first gold medal for the United States in the Winter Olympics on Jan. 26, 1924, taking the gold in the 500. Known for his explosive first 100 yards, Jewtraw's best 100 yards was 9.4 seconds, still a good time by today's standards.

Speedskating has produced more U.S. Olympic medals than any other sport, including the five golds won by Eric Heiden at the 1980 Games, and the six won by Bonnie Blair, who has won more than Olympic medals than any other American woman.

Schedule
Event	Date	Time (ET)
Men's 5,000	Saturday, Feb. 9	2 p.m.
Women’s 3000	Sunday, Feb. 10	3 p.m.
Men’s 500 qualification	Monday, Feb. 11	3 p.m.
Men’s 500 final	Tuesday, Feb. 12	3 p.m.
Women’s 500 qualification	Wednesday, Feb. 13	7 p.m.
Women’s 500 final	Thursday, Feb. 14	7 p.m
Men’s 1,000	Saturday, Feb. 16	3 p.m.
Women’s 1,000	Sunday, Feb. 17	7:15 p.m.
Men’s 1,500	Tuesday, Feb. 19	3 p.m.
Women’s 1,500	Wednesday, Feb. 20	3 p.m.

Outlook: Men — Canada’s Jeremy Wotherspoon is the sprint favorite on the fast ice of the Utah Olympic Oval. Americans Derek Parra and Casey FitzRandolph are among the medal hopefuls. Jochem Uytdehaage of the Netherlands won the European men’s overall title, his first international title, while Frank Dittrich of Germany took the 10,000. Tomomi Okazaki and Eriko Sanmiya of Japan are expected to challenge.

Women — Catriona Le May Doan is the sprint favorite, while Anni Friesenger of Germany could take three gold medals at the longer distances after winning 500, 1,500 and 3,000-meter races at European championships. Jennifer Rodriguez and Chris Witty are the American hopefuls.

Looking Back at Nagano: Coming off the excitement of Dan Jansen’s 1994 gold medal performance in Lillehammer, Norway’s 1,500-meter racer, Adne Sondral was almost the same story. Like Jansen, Sondral had a reputation for falling frequently. He had already won a silver medal in Albertville, but he had dwindled from Norway’s “Great Future Skating Champion” to “The Great Disappointment.” Nagano was his last chance for a gold medal and he was determined to achieve his life-long dream.

Paired against strong competition in the Netherland's Ids Postma, Sondral maintained perfect form to edge Postma. Both skaters broke the previous world record, but Sondral received the credit, improving it to 1:47.87.

In women’s action, Christine Witty was the only U.S. medalist. She won the silver medal in the 1,000 meters with a time of 1:16.79 and the bronze in the 1,500 meters with a time of 1:58.66.

Gold Medalists:

Men (500 Meters)
Year	Athlete, Country	Time
1924	Charles Jewtraw, United States	44.0
1928	Clas Thunberg, Finland	43.4
(Tie)	Bernt Evensen, Norway	43.4
1932	John Shea, United States	43.4
1936	Ivar Ballangrud, Norway	43.4
1948	Finn Helgesen, Norway	43.1
1952	Kenneth Henry, United States	43.2
1956	Yevgeny Grishin, USSR	40.2
1960	Yevgeny Grishin, USSR	40.2
1964	Terry McDermott, United States	40.1
1968	Erhard Keller, West Germany	40.3
1972	Erhard Keller, West Germany	39.44
1976	Yevgeny Kulikov, USSR	39.17
1980	Eric Heiden, United States	38.03
1984	Sergei Fokichev, USSR	38.19
1988	Uwe-Jens Mey, East Germany	36.45
1992	Uwe-Jens Mey, East Germany	37.14
1994	Aleksandr Golubev, Russia	36.33
1998	Hiroyasu Shimizu, Japan	71.35 (2 heats)
Men (1,000 Meters)
Year	Athlete, Country	Time
1976	Peter Mueller, United States	1:19.32
1980	Eric Heieden, United States	1:15.18
1984	Gaetan Boucher, Canada	1:15.80
1988	Nikolai Gulyaev, USSR	1:13.03
1992	Olaf Zinke, Germany	1:14.85
1994	Dan Jansen, United States	1:12.43
1998	Ids Postma, Netherlands	1:10.64
Men (1,500 Meters)
Year	Athlete, Country	Time
1924	Clas Thunberg, Finland	2:20.8
1928	Clas Thunberg, Finland	2:21.1
1932	John Shea, United States	2:57.5
1936	Charles Mathisen, Norway	2:19.2
1948	Sverre Farstad, Norway	2:17.6
1952	Hjalmar Andersen, Norway	2:20.4
1956	Yevgeny Grishin, USSR	2:08.6
(Tie)	Yuri Mikhailov, USSR	2:08.6
1960	Roald Aas, Norway	2:10.4
(Tie)	Yevgeny Grishin, USSR	2:10.4
1964	Ants Anston, USSR	2:10.3
1968	Cornelis Verkerk, Netherlands	2:03.4>
1972	Ard Schenk, Netherlands	2:02.96
1976	Jan Egil Storholt, Norway	1:59.38
1980	Eric Heiden, United States	1:55.44
1984	Gaetan Boucher, Canada	1:58.36
1988	Andre Hoffman, East Germany	1:52.06
1992	Johann Olav Koss, Norway	1:54.81
1994	Johann Olav Koss, Norway	1:51.29
1998	Aadne Sondral, Norway	1:47.87
Men (5,000 Meters)
Year	Athlete, Country	Time
1924	Clas Thunberg, Finland	8:39.0
1928	Ivar Ballangrud, Norway	8:50.5
1932	Irving Jaffee, United States	9:40.8
1936	Ivar Ballangrud, Norway	8:19.6
1948	Reidar Liaklev, Norway	8:29.4
1952	Hjalmar Andersen, Norway	8:10.6
1956	Boris Shilkov, USSR	7:48.7
1960	Viktor Kosichkin, USSR	7:51.3
1964	Knut Johannesen, Norway	7:38.4
1968	Fred Anton Maier, Norway	7:22.4
1972	Ard Schenk, Netherlands	7:23.61
1976	Sten Stensen, Norway	7:24.48
1980	Eric Heiden, United States	7:02.29
1984	Sven Tomas Gustafson, Sweden	7:12.28
1988	Tomas Gustafson, Sweden	6:44.63
1992	Geir Karlstad, Norway	6:59.97
1994	Johann Olav Koss, Norway	6:34.96
1998	Gianni Romme, Netherlands	6:22.20
Men (10,000 Meters)
Year	Athlete, Country	Time
1924	Julius Skutnabb, Finland	18:04.8
1928	Not held, thawing of ice
1932	Irving Jaffee, United States	19:13.6
1936	Ivar Ballangrud, Norway	17:24.3
1948	Ake Seyffarth, Sweden	17:26.3
1952	Hjalmar Andersen, Norway	16:45.8
1956	Sigvard Ericsson, Sweden	16:35.9
1960	Knut Johannesen, Norway	15:46.6
1964	Jonny Nilsson, Sweden	15:50.1
1968	Johnny Hoglin, Sweden	15:23.6
1972	Ard Schenk, Netherlands	15:01.35
1976	Piet Kleine, Netherlands	14:50.59
1980	Eric Heiden, United States	14:28.13
1984	Igor Malkov, USSR	14:39.90
1988	Tomas Gustafson, Sweden	13:48.20
1992	Bart Veldkamp, Netherlands	14:12.12
1994	Johann Olav Koss, Norway	13:30.55
1998	Gianni Romme, Netherlands	13:25.33

Women (500 Meters)
Year	Athlete, Country	Time
1960	Helga Haase, East Germany	45.9
1964	Lydia Skoblikova, USSR	45.0
1968	Lyudmila Titova, USSR	46.1
1972	Anne Henning, United States	43.33
1976	Sheila Young, United States	42.76
1980	Karin Enke, East Germany	41.78
1984	Christa Rothenburger, East Germany	41.02
1988	Bonnie Blair, United States	39.10
1992	Bonnie Blair, United States	40.33
1994	Bonnie Blair, United States	39.25
1998	Catriona LeMay-Doan, Canada	76.60
Women (1,000 Meters)
Year	Athlete, Country	Time
1960	Klara Guseva, USSR	1:34.1
1964	Lydia Skoblikova, USSR	1:33.2
1968	Carolina Geijssen, Netherlands	1:32.6
1972	Monika Pflug, West Germany	1:31.40
1976	Tatiana Averina, USSR	1:28.43
1980	Natalya Petruseva, USSR	1:24.10
1984	Karin Enke, East Germany	1:21.61
1988	Christa Rothenburger, East Germany	1:17.65
1992	Bonnie Blair, United States	1:21.90
1994	Bonnie Blair, United States	1:18.74
1998	Marianne Timmer, Netherlands	1:16.51
Women (1,500 Meters)
Year	Athlete, Country	Time
1960	Lydia Skoblikova, USSR	2:25.2
1964	Lydia Skoblikova, USSR	2:22.6
1968	Kaija Mustonen, Finland	2:22.4
1972	Dianne Holum, United States	2:20.85
1976	Galina Stepanskaya, USSR	2:16.58
1980	Anne Borckink, Netherlands	2:10.95
1984	Karin Enke, East Germany	2:03.42
1988	Yvonne van Gennip, Netherlands	2:00.68
1992	Jacqueline Boerner, Germany	2:05.87
1994	Emese Hunyady, Austria	2:02.19
1998	Marianne Timmer, Netherlands	1:57.58
Women (3,000 Meters)
Year	Athlete, Country	Time
1960	Lydia Skoblikova, USSR	5:14.3
1964	Lydia Skoblikova, USSR	5:14.9
1968	Johanna Schut, Netherlands	4:56.2
1972	Christina Baas-Kaiser, Netherlands	4:52.14
1976	Tatiana Averina, USSR	4:45.19
1980	Bjorg Eva Jensen, Norway	4:32.13
1984	Andrea Schone, East Germany	4:24.79
1988	Yvonne van Gennip, Netherlands	4:11.94
1992	Gunda Niemann, Germany	4:19.90
1994	Svetlana Bazhanova, Russia	4:17.43
1998	Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, Germany	4:07.29
Women (5,000 Meters)
Year	Athlete, Country	Time
1988	Yvonne van Gennip, Netherlands	7:14.13
1992
Gunda Niemann, Germany	7:31.57
1994	Claudia Pechstein, Germany	7:14.37
1998
Claudia Pechstein, Germany	6:59.61