2018 Winter Olympics: Speed Skating Guide and Preview for PyeongChang
With the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea fast approaching, here’s everything you need to know about speed skating.
The Olympics begin Thursday, Feb. 8 and conclude Sunday, Feb. 25. Speed skating will be contested from Feb. 10 to 24 with medals on the line for 14 different events. At the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, the Netherlands won eight out of 12 available gold medals but did manage to claim a medal in every event.
Check out the full speed skating schedule here.
In December, Sports Illustrated published a Rookie's Guide to Speed Skating with information about the background, selection process, rules and format of the sport. I challenge you to read that guide and not want to watch speed skating at this year's Olympics. The competition is going to be a lot of fun.
In the January 29-February 5 Olympic Preview issue of Sports Illustrated’s magazine, our expert Brian Cazeneuve gave his medal predictions. Here are his picks for speed skating:
Speedskating
MEN
500 Meters
Gold: Ronald Mulder, Netherlands
Silver: Kai Verbij, Netherlands
Bronze: Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen, Norway
Mulder’s twin, Michel, won the 500-meter long-track event in Sochi and came in third at 1,000 meters.
1,000 Meters
Gold: Kjeld Nuis, Netherlands
Silver: Kai Verbij, Netherlands
Bronze: Vincent De Haître, Canada
De Haître was Canada’s 1,000-meter track cycling champ in 2013.
1,500 Meters
Gold: Denis Yuskov, Russia
Silver: Koen Verweij, Netherlands
Bronze: Kjeld Nuis, Netherlands
Born in Moscow, Yuskov, who thought he was going to soccer practice at his first training session, grew up in Moldova.
5,000 Meters
Gold: Sven Kramer, Netherlands
Silver: Ted-Jan Bloemen, Canada
Bronze: Nicola Tumolero, Italy
Dual citizen Bloemen is a Dutch native.
10,000 Meters
Gold: Sven Kramer, Netherlands
Silver: Jorrit Bergsma, Netherlands
Bronze: Patrick Beckert, Germany
Kramer’s girlfriend, Naomi van As, won two Olympic golds in field hockey.
Team Pursuit
Gold: Netherlands
Silver: Norway
Bronze: Canada
Dutch skaters won eight of 12 races in Sochi.
Mass Start
Gold: Lee Seung-hoon, South Korea
Silver: Joey Mantia, U.S.
Bronze: Sven Kramer, Netherlands
Mantia twice won Pan-Am Games golds in in-line skating.
WOMEN
500 Meters
Gold: Nao Kodaira, Japan
Silver: Lee Sang-hwa, South Korea
Bronze: Arisa Go, Japan
Two-time Olympic champ Lee turns 29 on the day of the closing ceremony.
1,000 Meters
Gold: Nao Kodaira, Japan
Silver: Miho Takagi, Japan
Bronze: Heather Bergsma, U.S.
Bergsma and her Dutch husband, Jorrit, have combined for 23 worlds medals.
1,500 Meters
Gold: Miho Takagi, Japan
Silver: Marrit Leenstra, Netherlands
Bronze: Ireen Wüst, Netherlands
Takagi was a 2010 Olympian at age 15.
3,000 Meters
Gold: Martina Sábliková, Czech Republic
Silver: Claudia Pechstein, Germany
Bronze: Antoinette de Jong, Netherlands
European 3K champ Esmee Visser made the Dutch team only at 5K.
5,000 Meters
Gold: Martina Sábliková, Czech Republic
Silver: Natalia Voronina, Russia
Bronze: Claudia Pechstein, Germany
Sábliková is a former national cycling champ in the time trial.
Mass Start
Gold: Francesca Lollobrigida, Italy
Silver: Kim Bo-reum, South Korea
Bronze: Guo Dan, China
The mass start returns to the Olympics after an 86-year layoff.
Team Pursuit
Gold: Netherlands
Silver: Japan
Bronze: Germany
Dutch skaters won 23 medals in Sochi; Poland was next with three.
Short Track
MEN
500 Meters
Gold: Wu Dajing, China
Silver: Shaolin Sándor Liu, Hungary
Bronze: Samuel Girard, Canada
Wu says his sports hero is Michael Phelps.
1,000 Meters
Gold: Shaolin Sándor Liu, Hungary
Silver: Wu Dajing, China
Bronze: Hwang Dae-heon, South Korea
Sándor’s girlfriend is Elise Christie.
1,500 Meters
Gold: Hwang Dae-heon, South Korea
Silver: Charles Hamelin, Canada
Bronze: Sjinkie Knegt, Netherlands
In 2014, Knegt became the first Dutch person to win a short-track medal.
5,000-Meter Relay
Gold: South Korea
Silver: Canada
Bronze: Netherlands
The U.S. team could nab a medal.
WOMEN
500 Meters
Gold: Choi Min-jeong, South Korea
Silver: Marianne St-Gelais, Canada
Bronze: Elise Christie, Great Britain
South Korea has never won gold or silver at 500.
1,000 Meters
Gold: Choi Min-jeong, South Korea
Silver: Kim Boutin, Canada
Bronze: Elise Christie, Great Britain
Christie has dyed her hair a dozen different colors before events.
1,500 Meters
Gold: Choi Min-jeong, South Korea
Silver: Shim Suk-hee, South Korea
Bronze: Kim Boutin, Canada
In 2015, Choi was world champ at age 16.
3,000-Meter Relay
Gold: South Korea
Silver: China
Bronze: Canada
All but five of South Korea’s 26 winter golds have come in short track.
Check out Brian’s medal predictions for all 102 events in the magazine.
