List of Olympic medalists in speed skating
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Netherlands ( NED ) 4 3 2 9
2 Soviet Union ( URS ) 4 2 2 8
3 United States ( USA ) 3 3 4 10
4 East Germany ( GDR ) 2 2 1 5
5 Germany ( GER ) 1 2 2 5
6 Canada ( CAN ) 1 1 1 3
6 China ( CHN ) 1 1 1 3
8 Japan ( JPN ) 1 1 2
9 Finland ( FIN ) 1 !
Women -- 1000 metres
Games Gold Silver Bronze 1960 Squaw Valleydetails Klara Guseva Soviet Union Helga Haase United Team of Germany Tamara Rylova Soviet Union 1964 Innsbruckdetails Lidiya Skoblikova Soviet Union Irina Yegorova Soviet Union Kaija Mustonen Finland 1968 Grenobledetails Carry Geijssen Netherlands Lyudmila Titova Soviet Union Dianne Holum United States 1972 Sapporodetails Monika Pflug West Germany Atje Keulen-Deelstra Netherlands Anne Henning United States 1976 Innsbruckdetails Tatyana Averina Soviet Union Leah Poulos United States Sheila Young United States 1980 Lake Placiddetails Natalya Petrusyova Soviet Union Leah Poulos-Mueller United States Sylvia Albrecht East Germany 1984 Sarajevodetails Karin Enke East Germany Andrea Schöne East Germany Natalya Petrusyova Soviet Union 1988 Calgarydetails Christa Rothenburger East Germany Karin Enke East Germany Bonnie Blair United States 1992 Albertvilledetails Bonnie Blair United States Ye Qiaobo China Monique Garbrecht Germany 1994 Lillehammerdetails Bonnie Blair United States Anke Baier Germany Ye Qiaobo China 1998 Naganodetails Marianne Timmer Netherlands Christine Witty United States Catriona Le May Doan Canada 2002 Salt Lake Citydetails Christine Witty United States Sabine Völker Germany Jennifer Rodriguez United States 2006 Turindetails Marianne Timmer Netherlands Cindy Klassen Canada Anni Friesinger Germany 2010 Vancouverdetails Christine Nesbitt Canada Annette Gerritsen Netherlands Laurine van Riessen Netherlands 2014 Sochidetails Zhang Hong China Ireen Wüst Netherlands Margot Boer Netherlands 2018 PyeongChangdetails Jorien ter Mors Netherlands Nao Kodaira Japan Miho Takagi Japan Medals :
Speed skating is a sport that has been contested at the Winter Olympic Games since the inaugural Games in 1924. Events held at the first Winter Olympics included the men's 500-metre, 1500-metre, 5000-metre, and 10,000-metre races. Points from the four races were combined and counted towards the all-round event, which was dropped following the 1924 Olympics. Speed skating events for women were first held at the 1932 Winter Olympics, as part of the demonstration program. The organizing committee of those Games advocated for the full inclusion of the womens events, but the IOC rejected that. The first official women's events were held in 1960 in the 500-metre, 1000-metre, 1500-metre, and 3000-metre distances. The men's 1000-metre event was added in 1976 and the women's 5000-metre event was added in 1988. All 10 events have been held at every Olympic Games since, and a team pursuit event for both genders was added in 2006, for a total of 12 medal events. Dutch skater Ireen Wüst has won eleven medals - five gold, five silver, and one bronze - more than any other speed skater at the Olympics. Lidiya Skoblikova, who represented the Soviet Union, is one of two female Winter Olympians to win six gold medals (cross-country skier Lyubov Yegorova is the other). At the 1924 Winter Olympics, Finn Clas Thunberg became the first athlete to win two or more gold medals; in 1928, he became the first speed skater to successfully defend an Olympic title. At the 1964 Games, Skoblikova won four gold medals and became the first athlete to win a gold in every available event.