National College „Vasile Alecsandri”

Long track speed skating in USA

Advisor: Student:Ioana Pecheanu Daniela Ilascu 12A

May 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………32. The history of speed skating…………………………………………………………………………….43. The equipment

3.1. Skates…………………………………………………………………………………………………..7

3.2. Skin suite……………………………………………………………………………………………..9

4. Competition format………………………………………………………………………………………105. Ice rink

5.1. General information…………………………………………………………………………12

5.2. Indoor tracks – Outdoor tracks………………………………………………………14

5.3. Utah Olympic Oval – The fastest ice on Earth………………………………166. USA National records

6.1. Seniors………………………………………………………………………………………………18

6.2. Juniors………………………………………………………………………………………………197. Important competitions in USA

7.1. World Cups………………………………………………………………………………………20

7.2. Olympic Games 2002 – Salt Lake City………………………………………..218. American Speed Skaters

Male

Female……………………………………………………………………………………………………..239. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………..2410. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………………..25

1. INTRODUCTION

I have been practising long track speed skating for ten years, and I must say that by now, it is practically my life. I got so used to training every day, that if I skip it, I feel kind of lost. I do not know what I am going to do when I have to leave for college, and I would not be able to train every time I want. But until then, I will enjoy every second of what I have left from it.

This year I got the chance to train, compete and also live for a while in the United States of America. It was an amazing experience: training on the fastest ice rink in the world,

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side by side with the best speed skaters in the world. I felt so little among them, that I started questioning myself “What am I doing here?”.

As far as I noticed, speed skating is not a common sport and a lot of people that I spoke to did not have a clue about it. So here I am, trying to introduce you with the concept of speed skating and also with some of the best speed skaters in the world. Please enjoy!

2. THE HISTORY OF SPEED SKATING

The roots of speed skating date back over a millennium to Scandinavia, Northern Europe and the Netherlands, where the natives added bones to their shoes and used them to travel on frozen rivers, canals and lakes. It was much later, in the 1500s, that people started seeing skating as fun and perhaps even a sporting activity. Later, in Norway, King Eystein Magnusson, later King Eystein I of Norway, boasts of his skills racing on ice legs.

However, skating and speed skating was not limited to the Netherlands and Scandinavia; in 1592, a Scotsman designed a skate with a iron blade. It was iron-bladed skates that led to the spread of skating and, in particular, speed skating. By 1642, the first official skating club,

The Skating Club Of Edinburgh, was born, and, in 1763, the world saw its first official speed skating race, on the Fens in England organized by the National Ice Skating Association. While in the Netherlands, people began touring the rivers connecting the 11 cities of Friesland, a challenge which eventually led to the Elfstedentocht.

By 1850, North America had discovered a love of the sport, and, indeed, North America went on to develop the all-steel blade, which was both lighter and sharper. The Netherlands came back to the fore in 1889 and organized the very first world championships, and, subsequently, the ISU(International Skating Union) was born in 1892. Subsequently, by the start of the 20th century, skating and indeed speed skating had come into its own as a major popular sporting activity.

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During the nineteenth century, ice skating on Chicago's ponds, rivers, lagoons, and manufactured rinks was one of the city's most popular forms of winter recreation. Competitive speed skating began to thrive in the 1890s, particularly among Norwegians in Humboldt Park, who formed the Northwest Skating Club in 1890. The city pioneered women's competition in 1904 with a state meet at Humboldt Park that attracted 50,000 spectators. Speed skating subsequently spread into grade schools, and by the 1920s formal competition was conducted by the high schools, the Catholic Youth Organization, and the Chicago Park District. The city was also home to three major skate manufacturers: F. W. Planert & Sons, Nestor Johnson Mfg. Co., and Alfred Johnson Skate Company.

By 1923 metropolitan Chicago's winter landscape was dotted with more than six hundred outdoor rinks (more than in any other city) and was unrivaled in producing champion speed skaters, starting with four-time national champion Bobby McLean (1911–1914). Every Olympic Games from 1924 through 1998 had Chicagoans competing, notably Diane Holum, Ann Henning, Leah Poulos, and Andy Gabel. The Chicago Tribune Silver Skates competition from 1917 to 1974 was the preeminent speed skating event in the United States, attracting up to 60,000 fans during its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s.

ISU developmentOrganized races on ice skates developed in the 19th century. Norwegian clubs hosted competitions from 1863, with races in Christiania (nowadays known as Oslo) drawing five-digit crowds. In 1884, the Norwegian Axel Paulsen was named Amateur Champion Skater of the World after winning competitions in the United States. Five years later, a sports club in Amsterdam held an ice-skating event they called a world championship, with participants from Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as the host country. The Internationale Eislauf Vereinigung, now known as the International Skating Union, was founded at a meeting of 15 national representatives in Scheveningen in 1892, the first international winter sports federation.

The Nederlandse Schaatsrijderbond was founded in 1882 and organized the world championships of 1890 and 1891. Competitions were held around tracks of varying lengths—the 1885 match between Axel Paulsen and Remke van der Zee was skated on a track of 6/7 mile (1400 metres)—but the 400 metre track was standardised by the ISU in 1892, along with the standard distances for world

championships, 500 m, 1500 m, 5000 m and 10,000 m. Skaters started in pairs, each to their own lane, and changed lanes for every lap to ensure that each skater completed the same distance. This is what is now known as long track speed skating. Competitions were exclusively for amateur skaters, which was enforced. Peter Sinnerud was disqualified for professionalism in 1904 and lost his world title.

Long track world records were first registered in 1891 and improved rapidly, Jaap Eden lowering the world 5000-metre record by half a minute during the Hamar European Championships in 1894. The record stood for 17 years, and it took 50 years to lower it by further half a minute.

Speed skating at the Winter Olympics

The governing body for speed skating International Skating Union (ISU), was included in the list of recognized federations when the International Olympic Committee was founded, but was first discussed seriously for the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. No speed skating events were contested, although figure skating – also governed by the ISU – was on the programme. The preliminary calendar for the 1916 Summer Olympics, to be held in Berlin, listed a 3-event allround competition, but these Games were cancelled because of World War I.The International Winter Sports Week in Chamonix, retro-actively dubbed the 1924 Winter Olympics, contained five speed skating events. Uncommon for the time, it not only included an all-round competition, but also awarded medals for the individual distances: 500 m, 1500 m, 5000 m and 10000 m. The all-

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round event was dropped before the 1928 Games, even though it remained the only World Championship format in the sport until the 1970s; single distance World Championships were not established until 1996.

The 1932 speed skating events were held according to the rules of the American speed skating federation, meaning the skaters competed in small packs of skaters (similar to short track speed skating), instead of the common against-the-clock format. These Games in Lake Placid, New York also saw the first female speed skaters at the Olympics, although their events were only demonstration events. Women's events were also set to be held at the 1940 Winter Olympics, which were cancelled. After the war, they were withdrawn again until 1960, when the women skated 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and 3000 m.

Following the introduction of World Sprint Championships in the early 1970s, the 1000 m for men was added in Innsbruck 1976, while the women's 5000 m, reinstated by the ISU as an official distance in 1981, made its Olympic debut in 1988. The latest addition to the Olympic speed skating programme is the team pursuit, which was added for the 2006 Turin Games. Its inclusion was remarkable as it had not yet been contested at a senior World Championship in the form skated at the Olympics at the time of inclusion. It is not true that it had not yet been contested at a senior World Championship, the Dutch team won the 2005 title in Inzell, but in that form they only had to skate once and be the fastest, while the Olympic form required three starts.

At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Haralds Silovs (Latvia) became the first athlete in Olympic history to participate in both short track (1500m) and long track (5000m) speed skating, and the first the first to compete in two different disciplines on the same day.Medal table for the OlympicsRan

kNation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1  United States (USA) 29 22 16 67

2  Netherlands (NED) 27 29 26 82

3  Norway (NOR) 25 28 27 80

3. THE EQUIPMENT3.1. Skates

Ice skates are boots with blades attached to the bottom, used to propel oneself across a sheet of ice. They are worn as footwear in many sports, including ice hockey, speed skating and figure skating. The first ice skates were made from leg bones of horse, ox or deer, and were attached to feet with leather straps. A pole with a sharp metal spike was used for pushing the skater forward.

According to a study done by Federico Formenti, University of Oxford, and Alberto Minetti, University of Milan, Finns were the first to develop ice skates some 5,000 years ago from animal bones. This was important for the Finnish populations to save energy in harsh winter conditions when hunting in Finnish Lakeland. The first skate to use a metal blade was found in Scandinavia and was dated to 200 and was fitted with a thin strip of copper folded and

attached to the underside of a leather shoe.

Racing skates, also known as speed skates, have long blades and are used for speed skating. A clap skate (or clapper skate) is a type of skate where the shoe is connected to the blade using a hinge. Short track

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racing skates have a longer overall height to the blade to allow for deep edge turns without the boot contacting the ice. For better turning ability, racing skates may have a radius, from 8 metres

for short track to 22 metres for long track.

The clap skate (also called clapskates, slap skates, slapskates, from Dutch klapschaats) is a type of ice skate used in speed skating. Unlike in traditional skates where the blade is rigidly fixed to the boot, clap skates have the blade attached to the boot by a hinge at the front. This allows the blade to remain in contact with the ice longer, as the ankle can now be extended toward the end of the stroke, as well as for more natural movement, thereby distributing the energy of the leg more effectively and efficiently.

Clap skates were developed at the Faculty of Human Movement Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam, led by Gerrit Jan van Ingen Schenau, although the idea of a clap skate is much older; designs dating from around 1900 are known.

The clap skate was used first in the 1984/1985 skating season. It was, however, not until the late 1990s that the idea was taken seriously. In the 1996/1997 season, the Dutch women's team started using the skates with great success. The rest of the skating world soon followed suit, causing a torrent of world records to be broken in the following seasons, including the 1998 Winter

Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Find out how to make your own skates from bones at:

http://www.valhs.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/ice_skates.htm

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3.2. Skin suite

They are called skinsuits because because the best of them fit skin-tight. The term is usually used to describe any one piece speed skating outfit (tights & jersey). The skin-tight fit helps the speedskater skate their fastest because:

1: It is aerodynamic. This is most important for long track skaters because the resistance from air flow over the skaters' body has a very large effect on the large 400 meter long track. This has a great effect on the skaters' speed and finish time. The effect is less noticeable in the 111.12 meter short track, since it is in a relatively small hockey rink.

2: Freedom of movement. This allows the skater to use the arms and legs to their fullest, without the energy consuming resistance that would come from regular clothes, say for instance, a pair of Levis.

The skinsuits come in many colors and neat designs. They are made of a stretchable material, usually spandex and/or lycra. It takes great skill to make them correctly, so that they will stretch in all directions.

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4. Competition format

All round

The oldest competition format still in place is the all round event, standardized in 1892 (see History above). Skaters skate four distances (for men: 500 m, 1500 m, 5000 m, and 10,000 m), and a ranking is made up based on the times skated on all of these distances. The method of scoring is the same for all combinations. All times are calculated back to 500 m times, so skating the 500 m in 40 seconds gives 40 points, while 1500 m (3×500 m) in 2 minutes (120 seconds, equivalent to 3×40 s) also gives 40 points. Points are calculated to three decimal places, and truncation is applied; the numbers are not rounded. The skater who has the fewest points wins the competition. This system is called samalog.

An all round champion may often not have won a single distance—such as Viktor Kosichkin in the 1962 World Championship—or he may win three distances but lose the overall title. Originally, three distance victories won one the championship, but the rules were changed after Rolf Falk-Larssen beat Tomas Gustafson at the 1983 World Championship despite having more points. The ISU organizes an annual World All round Speed Skating Championships.

Sprint championships

The sprint championships are two-day events where skaters run the 500 m and 1000 m on both days. The samalog system is again applied

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to crown the winner. To counter any systematic bias regarding inner versus outer lanes, skaters change start lanes from the first day to the second. Nations with active skaters arrange annual national sprint championships, and the ISU have been arranging annual World Sprint Speed Skating Championships for men and for ladies since 1970. While there are annual European (All round) Speed Skating Championships, no such championships are arranged for the sprinters.

Single distances

A more basic form of speed skating consists of skating a single event. This is the format used for the World Single Distance Championships, which have been arranged since 1996, and the World Cup. The usual distances are the 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, 3000 m (ladies only), 5000 m and 10,000 m (men only), but some other distances are sometimes skated as well, such as 100 m and 1 mile. Women occasionally, but rarely, are given the opportunity to skate the 10,000 m, but

outside the top-level championships.

The 500 m is usually skated with two runs, so that every skater has one race starting in the outer lane and one in the inner. This practice started with the first of the World Single Distance Championships in 1996, and with the 1998 Nagano Olympics; at all earlier Olympics, the 500 m was skated only once. The reason for skating this distance twice is that there is a small but statistically significant average advantage of starting in the inner lane; negotiating the last curve at high speed is typically more difficult in the inner lane than in the outer lane.

In addition to international championships, the International Skating Union has organized the Speed Skating World Cup since the 1985–1986 season. The World Cup works by ranking skaters by cumulative score during the season, for each distance separately, at specially designated World Cup meets. More specifically, there is for each season a World Cup competition for the 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, and combined 5,000 m and 10,000 m, for men; and for the 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, and combined 3,000 m and 5,000 m, for ladies. There have been suggestions of making a grand total World Cup ranking by suitable aggregation of scores across distances, but such a ranking system has not yet been organized. Speed skating is thus the only individual sport with a season-long World Cup not to crown one World Cup winner at the end of each season

Team pursuit

The team pursuit is the only team event in top-level long track speed skating and is skated by teams of three skaters. Two teams race at a time, starting at a line in the middle of the straightaway. One team starts on each side of the track. Only the inner lane is used, and the distance is eight laps for

men and six for women.

There are several formats for the team pursuit. The Olympic format is unusual in that it is a cup format, with several rounds of exclusion between two teams. In the World Cup

and World Championships, one race is skated and the teams are ranked by their finishing time. In the Olympic format, a team that overtakes the other has automatically won the race and the remaining distance is not skated. In practice, the distance is so short that this rarely happens

unless one team has a fall.

The team pursuit is a new event in major international competitions. Similar events have been held for years on a smaller scale but was not considered an official ISU event until around 2004. It was introduced at the Olympics in 2006.

5. ICE RINK

5.1. General information

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An ice rink is a frozen body of water where people can skate or play winter sports. Some of its uses include playing ice hockey, figure skating exhibitions and contests, and ice shows.

Rink, a Scottish word meaning 'course', was used as the name of a place where another game, curling, was played. The name has been retained for the construction of ice areas for other sports and uses.

Many ice rinks consist of, or are found on, open bodies of water such as lakes, ponds, canals, and sometimes rivers; these can only be used in the winter in climates where the surface would freeze thickly enough to support human weight. Rinks can also be made in cold climates by enclosing a level area of ground, filling it with water, and letting it freeze. Snow may even be packed to use as a containment material.

Construction

Modern rinks have a specific procedure for preparing the surface: With the pipes cold, a thin layer of water is sprayed on the sand or concrete to seal and

level it (or in the case of concrete, to keep it from being marked). This thin layer is painted white or pale blue, for better contrast; markings necessary for

hockey or curling are also placed, along with logos or other decorations. Another thin layer of water is sprayed on top of this. The ice is built up to a thickness of 2–3 centimeters (around one inch) by repeated flows of

water onto the surface

Periodically after the ice has been used, it is resurfaced using a machine called an ice resurfacer (typically manufactured by either the Zamboni corporation of southern California or the Resurface Corporation of Ontario, Canada). Between events, especially if the arena is being used without need for the ice surface, it is either covered with a heavily insulated floor, or melted

by heating the fluid in the pipes.

In speed skating, the official Olympic rink size is 30 x 60 meters for short track, and 400 meters for long track. A standard speed skating track is, according to the regulations of the International Skating Union (ISU), a double-laned track with two curved ends each of 180°, in which the radius of the inner curve is not less than 25 meters and not more than 26 meters. The width of the competition lanes are 4 meters. At the opposite straight of the finishing line, there is a crossing area, where the skaters must change lane.

At international competitions, the track must be 400 meters long, with a warm-up lane at least 4 meters wide inside the competition lanes. For olympic competitions, the track must also be enclosed within a building.

The design and dimensions of a speed skating track has remained more or less unchanged since the foundation of ISU in 1892.

Measurement and demarcation

The measurement of the track is made half a meter into the lane. The total length of the track is the distance a competitor skates each lap, i.e. the length of two straights, one inner curve and one outer curve, in addition to the extra distance skated when changing lanes in the cross-over area, which on a standard track equals 7 centimeters.

A 400 m track with inner radius 25.0 m has 113.57 m long straights

A 400 m track with inner radius 25.5 m has 112.00 m long straights

A 400 m track with inner radius 26.0 m has 110.43 m long straights

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The demarcation of the competition lanes are made by painted lines in the ice (a set of painted marks) and movable blocks of rubber. On outdoor tracks, snow may also be used for demarcation of the competition lanes.

Alternative speed skating tracks

Although ISU regulations state that minimum measures for a standard speed skating track, alternative track lengths may be used for competition. The minimum requirements are track length on 200 meters, radius of inner curve of 15 meters and width of the competition lanes 2 meters.

5.2. Indoor tracks – Outdoor tracks

Indoor speed skating tracks

Below is a complete list of the indoor 400 m speed skating tracks around the world. The data presented are retrieved from the online database Speed Skating News.

Country City Track nameAltitud

eFinishe

dBelarus Minsk Minsk Arena 209 2010Canada Calgary Olympic Oval 1105 1987Canada Fort St. John Enerplex Arena 671 2009Canada Richmond Richmond Olympic Oval 4 2008

China Changchun Jilin Provincial Speed Skating Rink 210 2005

China Harbin Heilongjiang Indoor Rink 141 1995

China Qiqihar Indoor Iceink 146 2007

China Shenyang Bayi Speed Skating Oval 48 1999

Germany Berlin Sportforum Hohenschönhausen 34 1985

Germany Erfurt Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann Halle 214 2001

Italy Torino Oval Lingotto 233 2005

Japan Nagano M-Wave 346 1996

Japan Obihiro Meiji Hokkaido-Tokachi Oval 79 2009

Netherlands Breda SpaarSelect Kunstijsbaan 5 2001

Netherlands Enschede IJsbaan Twente 27 2008

Netherlands Groningen Kardinge 0 1993

Netherlands Heerenveen Thialf 0 1986

Netherlands Tilburg Ireen Wüst IJsbaan 13 2009

Norway Bjugn Fosenhallen 8 2007

Norway Hamar Vikingskipet 125 1992

Norway Stavanger Sørmarka arena 48 2010

Russia Chelyabinsk Uralskaja Molnija 222 2005

Russia Kolomna Speed Skating Centre 120 2006

Russia Moscow Krylatskoye Skating Hall 127 2004

South Korea Seoul Taereung Indoor Ice Rink 63 2000

USA Milwaukee Pettit National Ice Center 216 1993USA Salt Lake City Utah Olympic Oval 1423 2000

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Other major speed skating tracks

In the table below, some of the world's major outdoor speed skating tracks still in use are listed. This is not a complete list of speed skating venues, but lists most of the outdoor tracks used for world cup competitions and championships the past years. The data in the table are retrieved from the Speed Skating News database.

Country City Track nameAltitud

eFinished Other

Austria Innsbruck Olympia Eisstadion 586 1963

Finland HelsingforsOulunkylän Liikuntapuisto

39 1977

Finland Seinäjoki Jääurheilukeskus 44 1952

Germany InzellLudwig-Schwabl-Stadion

691 1965Reopens as an indoor arena in 2011

Hungary Budapest Városligeti Müjégpálya 115 1968

ItalyBaselga di Pinè

Ice Rink Pinè 998 1985

Italy Collalbo Arena Ritten 1173 1989

Kazakhstan

Almaty Medeo 1691 1972 Under re-development

Netherlands

The Hague De Uithof 0 1989 Semi-covered

Norway Oslo Frogner stadion 42 1914Reopens with artificial ice in 2010

Norway Oslo Valle-Hovin 92 1966

Poland Warsaw Tor Stegny 82 1979

Poland Zakopane Tor Cos 932 1956

Gothenburg

Gothenburg Ruddalens skrinnarhall 40 2002 Semi-covered

Switzerland

Davos Eisstadion Davos 1560 1894 Natural ice

USA RosevilleJohn Rose Minnesota Oval

276 1993

5.3. Utah Olympic Oval – The fastest ice on Earth

The Utah Olympic Oval was built with the purpose of hosting speed skating competitions during the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games, but serves as a legacy to the State of Utah for all members of the community to enjoy. The Oval, as well as the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, is operated by the Utah Athletic Foundation. The Oval is part of a multi-purpose recreation complex that includes recreational gyms,

weight facilities and swimming pools.

With an incredible 10 Olympic records and eight world records, the Utah Olympic Oval stands uncontested as

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the "Fastest Ice on Earth" following the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. As impressive as the record breaking performances were, it was the performance of the U.S. Olympic Speedskating Team during the Games that has generated a worldwide "buzz" surrounding the Utah Olympic Oval. The team relocated to Salt Lake City in January of 2001 to begin training in the Olympic venue 12 months before the rest of the world was expected to arrive. At the end of the 2002 Games, the U.S. Speedskating team had garnished an astonishing eight Olympic medals won by six individual team members. The depth and success of the U.S. team caused the rest of the world to take notice and attention quickly turned to the concept of home field advantage. The athletes were generous with their praise, identifying the training environment at the Utah Olympic Oval as a huge factor in helping them realize their full potential as Olympic athletes. The U.S. Speedskating team continues to use the Utah Olympic Oval as its home training base for the men's and ladies' long track team because of the services the Oval provides and the friendly, experienced staff who works there.

The Utah Olympic Oval successfully hosted its first major international speed skating competition three weeks after the completion of the oval construction in February 2001. The success of the 2001 World Championships Speed Skating Single Distances event was overwhelming, bringing more than130 athletes from 20 countries to Salt Lake City for this prestigious competition. As a preview to the Olympics in 2002, an incredible five world records were broken in the Utah Olympic Oval's debut competition. The format of the Single Distances Championships is very similar to that of the Olympic Games making this event a great test and learning tool for the staff, volunteers and facility.

Track records

Men

Distance Record Name Date100 meter 09,40 Yuya Oikawa (JPN) 07.03.2009500 meter 34,03 Jeremy Wotherspoon (CAN) 09.11.20071000 meter 1.06,42 Shani Davis (USA) 07.03.20091500 meter 1.41,04 Shani Davis (USA) 11.12.20093000 meter 3.39,29 Håvard Bøkko (NOR) 28.02.20093200 meter 3.39,55 Håvard Bøkko (NOR) 13.12.20095000 meter 6.06,06 Enrico Fabris (ITA) 12.12.200910000 meter 12.41,69 Sven Kramer (NED) 08.03.2007

Ladies

Distance Record Name Date100 meter 10,21 Jenny Wolf 07.03.2009500 meter 37,00 Jenny Wolf 11.12.20091000 meter 1.13,36 Christine Nesbitt (CAN) 13.12.20091500 meter 1.51,79 Cindy Klassen (CAN) 18.11.2005

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2400 meter 2.57,18 Jekaterina Abramova (RUS) 13.12.20093000 meter 3.56,30 Martina Sáblíková (CZE) 11.12.20095000 meter 6.45,61 Martina Sáblíková (CZE) 08.03.200710000 meter 15.45,88 Eva Rodansky (USA) 05.03.2005

6. USA NATIONAL RECORDS

6.1. Seniors

Ladies

500m 37,74 Elli Ochowicz11 December 2009Salt Lake City (USA)

1000m 1.13,83 Chris Witty17 February 2002Salt Lake City (USA)

1500m 1.54,19 Jennifer Rodriguez12 December 2009Salt Lake City (USA)

3000m 4.01,98 Catherine Raney Norman27 December 2005Salt Lake City (USA)

5000m 6.56,92 Catherine Raney Norman31 December 2005Salt Lake City (USA)

10000m 14.56,12 Catherine Raney Norman11 March 2005Calgary (CAN)

Men

500m 34,31 Tucker Fredricks17 November 2007Calgary (CAN)

1000m 1.06,42 Shani Davis7 March 2009Salt Lake City (USA)

1500m 1.41,04 Shani Davis11 December 2009Salt Lake City (USA)

3000m 3.39,02 Chad Hedrick10 March 2005Calgary (CAN)

5000m 6.09,68 Chad Hedrick13 November 2005Calgary (CAN)

10000m 12.55,11 Chad Hedrick31 December 2005Salt Lake City (USA)

6.2. Juniors

Ladies

500m 38,78 Elli Ochowicz1 December 2001Salt Lake City (USA)

1000m 1.16,41 Elli Ochowicz12 January 2003Salt Lake City (USA)

1500m 1.58,88 Maria Lamb9 January 2005Salt Lake City (USA)

3000m 4.10,50 Maria Lamb8 January 2005Salt Lake City (USA)

5000m 7.14,20 Kirstin Holum20 February 1998Nagano (JPN)

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Men

500m 35,50 Mitchell Whitmore6 February 2009Calgary (CAN)

1000m 1.09,38 Brian Hansen30 December 2009Salt Lake City (USA)

1500m 1.44,45 Brian Hansen11 December 2009Salt Lake City (USA)

3000m 3.47,60 Brian Hansen12 March 2010Moscow (RUS)

5000m 6.23,44 Brian Hansen5 December 2009Calgary (CAN)

10000m 13.36,28 Brian Hansen30 December 2009Salt Lake City (USA)

7. Important competitions in USA

7.1. World Cups

6 - 7 Mar

2009

Essent ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final Salt Lake City, USA

20 - 22 Mar

2009

American Cup Final & Champions Challenge

Ladies & Men

Salt Lake City, USA

21 - 25 Oct

2009

American Cup #1

Ladies & Men

Milwaukee, USA

11 - 13 Dec

2009

Essent ISU World Cup Speed Skating Salt Lake City, USA

12 - 14 Feb

2010

American Cup #3 & North Americans

Ladies & Men

Salt Lake City, USA

12 - 14 Mar

2010

American Cup Final & Champions Challenge

Ladies & Men

Salt Lake City, USA

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7.2. Olympic Games 2002 – Salt Lake City

Speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics, was held over fourteen days, from 9 February to 23 February. Ten events were contested at the Utah Olympic Oval.

Medal summary

Medal tableRank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1  Netherlands (NED) 3 5 0 8

2  Germany (GER) 3 3 2 83  United States (USA) 3 1 4 84  Canada (CAN) 1 0 2 3

5  Japan (JPN) 0 1 0 1

6  Norway (NOR) 0 0 2 2

Men's eventsEvent Gold Silver Bronze

500 metres Casey

FitzrandolphUnited States (USA)

69.23 Hiroyasu

ShimizuJapan (JPN)

69.26

 Kip CarpenterUnited States (USA)

69.47

1000 metres

 Gerard van VeldeNetherlands (NED)

1:07.18 WR

 Jan BosNetherlands (NED)

1:07.53 Joey Cheek

United States (USA)

1:07.61

1500 metres

 Derek ParraUnited States (USA)

1:43.95 Jochem

UytdehaageNetherlands (NED)

1:44.57 Ådne

SøndrålNorway (NOR)

1:45.26

5000 metres

 Jochem UytdehaageNetherlands (NED)

6:14.66 WR

 Derek ParraUnited States (USA)

6:17.98  Jens BodenGermany (GER)

6:21.73

10000 metres

 Jochem UytdehaageNetherlands (NED)

12:58.92 WR

 Gianni RommeNetherlands (NED)

13:10.03  Lasse SætreNorway (NOR)

13:16.92

Women's eventsEvent Gold Silver Bronze

500 metresdetails

 Catriona Lemay DoanCanada (CAN)

74.75 Monique

Garbrecht-EnfeldtGermany (GER)

74.94 Sabine

VölkerGermany (GER)

75.19

1000 metresdetails

 Chris WittyUnited States (USA)

1:13.83 WR

 Sabine VölkerGermany (GER)

1:13.96

 Jennifer RodriguezUnited States (USA)

1:14.24

1500 metresdetails

 Anni FriesingerGermany (GER)

1:54.02 WR

 Sabine VölkerGermany (GER)

1:54.97

 Jennifer RodriguezUnited States (USA)

1:55.32

3000 metresdetails

 Claudia PechsteinGermany (GER)

3:57.70 WR

 Renate GroenewoldNetherlands (NED)

3:58.94 Cindy

KlassenCanada (CAN)

3:58.97

5000 metresdetails

 Claudia Pechstein

6:46.91 WR

 Gretha Smit 6:49.22  Clara Hughes

6:53.53

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Germany (GER) Netherlands (NED) Canada (CAN)

Records

Salt Lake City's high altitude was a major contributing factor to the speed of the Utah Olympic

Oval's ice, as new Olympic records were set in all ten events, and new World records in eight.Event Date Round Athlete Country Time OR WR

Men's 500 metres 11 February Heat 1 Casey Fitzrandolph United States 34.42 OR

Men's 1000 metres 16 February Gerard van Velde Netherlands 1:07.18 OR WR

Men's 1500 metres 19 February Derek Parra United States 1:43.95 OR WR

Men's 5000 metres 9 February Jochem Uytdehaage Netherlands 6:14.66 OR WR

Men's 10000 metres 22 February Jochem Uytdehaage Netherlands 12:58.92 OR WR

Women's 500 metres 13 February Heat 1 Catriona Lemay Doan Canada 37.30 ORWomen's 1000

metres16 February Chris Witty United States 1:13.83 OR WR

Women's 1500 metres

16 February Anni Friesinger Germany 1:54.02 OR WR

Women's 3000 metres

16 February Claudia Pechstein Germany 3:57.70 OR WR

Women's 5000 metres

16 February Claudia Pechstein Germany 6:46.91 OR WR

8. AMERICAN SPEED SKATERS

Male Female

Andrew Astalos Chantal BaileyKC Boutiette Bonnie BlairKip Carpenter Rebekah BradfordJoey Cheek Anne BrucknerShani Davis Beth HeidenJohn Farrell Dianne HolumCasey FitzRandolph Anne HenningEric Flaim Kit KleinTucker Fredricks Maria LambDavid Cruikshank Leah PoulosChad Hedrick Jennifer RodriguezEric Heiden Chris WittyKen Henry Sheila YoungIrving Jaffee Ellie OchowiczDan Jansen Mia ManganelloCharles Jewtraw Ericka HawkeTerry McDermott Catherine RaneyPeter Mueller Heather RichardsonDerek Parra Anna RingsgredTom Plant Jessica SmithJack Shea Nancy SwiderNick Thometz Christine WittyKeith Bryant Patrick Meek Trevor Marsicano Mike Blumel John Loquai Robert Lawrence Charles Ryan Leveille Jonathan Kuck

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9. CONCLUSION

In the end, I do not know if I had awakened your interest for this sport (I sure hope I did), but I am very happy that I was the one to reveal the beauty of long track speed skating.

I had to cut back a lot of photos and materials: every picture has its own story behind it, and there were so many stories to tell, that I had to limit my saying. I also did not write about short track, which is the other type of speed skating. Usually, if people did not hear about long track, they surely did not know anything about short track, although there are some exceptions.

All in all, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

10. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Holum, Dianne, “The Complete Handbook of Speed Skating”, Association of American University Presses Inc., California (1984)

2. Riess, Steven A. City Games „The Evolution of American Urban Society and the Rise of Sports”, Association of American University Presses Inc., Chicago (1989)

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3. Ingen Schenau, G.J. Van, De Groot, G., Scheurs, A. W., & De Koning, J .J. „Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise”, (A new skate allowing powerful plantar flexions improves performance), Human Kinetics Publishers, Champaign (1996)

4. Lindberg, Richard C., and Biart Williams „The Armchair Companion to Chicago Sports”, Association of American University Presses Inc., Chicago (1997)

5. Houghton, Bill, „Speed Skating Handbook” Association of American University Presses Inc., Chicago, (1998–1999)

6. Publow, Barry,”Speed on Skates”, Human Kinetics Publishers, Champaign (1999)7. USOC: “A Basic Guide to Speed Skating”, Griffin Publishers, Torrance (2002)

Internet sources

1. http://www.skateresults.com/world_records 2. http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2002/SLC2002Results3.pdf 3. http://www.olyparks.com/uoo/index.asp 4. http://www.speedskatingnews.info/?page_id=826&bahn=USSL 5. http://www.speedskatingresults.com/index.php?p=11 6. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080104-first-skates.html 7. http://www.sportsci.org/news/news9703/slapskat.htm 8. www.wikipedia.org 9. www.google.ro 10. www.isu.org

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