Speed skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics, was held from 8 to 20 February. Ten events were contested at M-Wave. The Netherlands dominated the Nagano speed skating events, winning five gold medals and eleven medals overall, their highest total in any Winter games up until that point. Bart Veldkamp's bronze medal was the first in speed skating for Belgium, and the first at the Winter Games for the country in 50 years. Lyudmila Prokasheva's bronze medal for Kazakhstan was that country's first in the sport as well, and Prokasheva became the first woman from Kazakhstan to earn an Olympic medal.
Gianni Romme and Marianne Timmer led the individual medal tables, with two gold each.
Medal summary Medal table
Men's events
500 metres 1:11.35 1:11.84 1:11.86 1000 metres 1:10.64() 1:10.71 1:11.00 1500 metres 1:47.87 1:48.13 1:48.52 5000 metres 6:22.20 6:28.24 6:28.31 10,000 metres 13:15.33 13:25.76 13:28.19
Women's events
500 metres 1:16.60 1:16.93 1:17.10 1000 metres 1:16.51(OR) 1:16.79 1:17.37 1500 metres 1:57.58 1:58.66 1:58.97 3000 metres 4:07.29(OR) 4:08.47 4:09.44 5000 metres 6:59.61 6:59.65 7:11.14
Records
Five world records and twelve Olympic records were set in Nagano.
Event Date Team Time OR WR Men's 500 metres 9 February 35.76 OR 11 February 35.59 OR Men's 1000 metres 15 February 1:10.64 OR Men's 1500 metres 12 February 1:47.87 OR WR Men's 5000 metres 8 February 6:22.20 OR WR Men's 10000 metres 17 February 13:15.33 OR WR Women's 500 metres 13 February 38.39 OR 14 February 38.21 OR Women's 1000 metres 19 February 1:16.51 OR Women's 1500 metres 16 February 1:57.58 OR WRWomen's 3000 metres 11 February 4:07.29 OR Women's 5000 metres 20 February 6:59.61 OR WR
Participating NOCs
Twenty-five nations competed in the speed skating events at Nagano. New Zealand and Portugal made their Olympic speed skating debuts.
References