The speed skating events of the 2022 Winter Olympics ended on February 19, 2022. The National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the Ice Ribbon, witnessed 10 Olympic records and 1 world record in 12 competition days. Netherlands, the “dominator” of speed skating events, won 6 gold medals and became the biggest winner. Chinese athlete Gao Tingyu won a gold and also set the new Olympic record in the Men's 500m event. Athletes from Sweden, Japan, Canada, and other countries or regions also showed great performance.
Chinese athlete Gao Tingyu was greeting the audience with a “golden Bing Dwen Dwen” in his hand on February 12. Xinhua News Agency
In these events, Team Netherlands ranked first in the medal table with 6 golds, 4 silvers and 2 bronzes, which were less than the 8 golds, 7 silvers and 8 bronzes it secured in Sochi 2014 and 7 golds, 4 silvers and 5 bronzes it secured in PyeongChang 2018, so the dominant position of “Oranje” has been weakened.
Irene Schouten is a triple Olympic Champion, having won the Women's 5000m, Women's 3000m, and Women's Mass Start. She and her teammates also won the bronze medal in the Women's Team Pursuit. Ireen Wüst defended her Women's 1500m title in an Olympic record-breaking performance against the odds. Kjeld Nuis and Thomas Krol also won a gold medal respectively for the Netherlands.
Irene Schouten, the athlete in the middle, was at the medal awarding ceremony for the Women's Mass Start at the 2022 Winter Olympics on February 19. Xinhua News Agency
In addition to Schouten, Miho Takagi of Japan also won four medals. At 2022 Winter Olympics, the Japanese team won 1 gold, 3 silvers, and 1 bronze, while Miho Takagi contributed 1 gold and 3 silvers herself. She failed to win the gold medal in the Women's 1500m event, in which she held the world record. She also overtaken by Erin Jackson in the Women's 500m. She and her teammates won another silver medal in the Women's Team Pursuit because her teammate fell right before the finish line. But she eventually won a gold medal in Women's 1000m.
Nils van der Poel’s dominant position in men's long-distance events have won the Swedish team two gold medals, namely Men's 5000m and Men's 10000m. He broke the world record with a time of 12:30.74 in Men's 10000m. He won Sweden the second place in the medal table himself.
The performance of the Chinese team was also remarkable. Gao Tingyu competed in the Men's 500m event, where he won a gold and also set the new Olympic record with a time of 34.32 seconds, making him the first Chinese man to win a gold medal in Olympic speed skating, 42 years after Chinese athletes participated in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time in 1980. In addition, the Chinese team also participated in some events and achieved the best rankings in history in many competitions.
Chinese athlete Gao Tingyu was sprinting in the Speed Skating Men's 500m final in 2022 Winter Olympics on February 12. Xinhua News Agency
We found that the overall performance of athletes in Speed Skating events was improved. The Ice Ribbon has witnessed 10 Olympic records, 1 of which was also a world record. Athletes from 12 Olympic teams have won medals, while athletes from the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Japan, the United States, Norway, Belgium, and China have won gold medals.
