History of Speed Skating and the Dutch Tradition

Introduction

Speed skating is one of the most distinctive Dutch and Northern European winter sports traditions, with continuous documented practice from medieval Dutch canal origins through the modern Olympic speed skating tradition. The speed skating tradition has been shaped by medieval Dutch canal transportation tradition, Northern European cultural tradition, and 19th century international speed skating competitive development. The modern global speed skating landscape is anchored by the International Skating Union (ISU, founded 1892 at Scheveningen in the Netherlands), the Olympic Winter Games speed skating tradition (held at every Olympic Winter Games since 1924), the ISU World Speed Skating Championships, the ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Championships, the Elfstedentocht (the legendary Friesian eleven-city marathon speed skate, held when natural ice permits), and the principal national speed skating federations. This article surveys the full history of speed skating from medieval Dutch canal origins through the modern Olympic speed skating tradition.

Medieval Dutch Canal Origins

Speed skating extends from medieval Dutch canal origins. The medieval Dutch canal transportation tradition produced foundational ice skating innovations. The 13th century Dutch ice skate development from bone-skate technology to wooden-and-iron skate technology established the principal medieval Dutch ice skate tradition. The 1498 Friesian noblewoman Saint Lidwina ice skating accident produced one of the earliest documented Dutch ice skating events. The 1572 Battle of Amsterdam Dutch ice skating military innovations produced principal Dutch military ice skating tradition. The 17th century Dutch Golden Age ice skating cultural prominence produced extensive Dutch Golden Age ice skating paintings, including Hendrick Avercamp's principal Dutch Golden Age ice skating paintings. The continued Dutch ice skating cultural tradition through subsequent centuries has continued. The traditional Dutch canal ice skating tradition extends from the medieval Dutch canal transportation tradition through subsequent centuries.

1892 ISU Founding at Scheveningen

The 1892 International Skating Union (ISU) founding at Scheveningen in the Netherlands by Dutch, Austrian, German, Hungarian, Swedish, and British national federations established the principal international speed skating sanctioning body. The 1892 ISU founding established the principal international speed skating sanctioning body. The 1893 first ISU World Speed Skating Championships at Amsterdam established the principal ISU World Speed Skating Championships tradition. The 1893 first ISU World Speed Skating Championships gold medal was won by Jaap Eden (the Dutch speed skater, the principal early Dutch speed skating champion). The continued ISU World Speed Skating Championships annually since 1893 has continued through subsequent decades. The 1936 ISU Women's World Speed Skating Championships establishment extended the principal ISU Women's World Speed Skating Championships tradition. The continued ISU World Speed Skating Championships and ISU Women's World Speed Skating Championships have continued through subsequent decades.

1909 Elfstedentocht Tradition

The 1909 first Elfstedentocht (the legendary Friesian eleven-city marathon speed skate, approximately 200 km across the eleven Friesian cities) established the principal Friesian speed skating tradition. The 1909 Elfstedentocht winner was Minne Hoekstra. The continued Elfstedentocht tradition (held when natural ice permits across Friesian canals and lakes) has continued through subsequent decades. The Elfstedentocht has been held only 15 times across the 20th and 21st centuries (with the most recent Elfstedentocht held in 1997 — the Elfstedentocht has not been held since 1997 due to insufficient natural ice formation across subsequent decades, with extensive climate change concerns). The 1985 and 1986 Elfstedentocht (held in two consecutive years for the first time in Elfstedentocht history) substantially extended the Elfstedentocht cultural prominence. The 1997 Elfstedentocht (the most recent Elfstedentocht through subsequent decades) extended the Elfstedentocht cultural prominence. The principal Elfstedentocht cultural prominence has continued through subsequent decades, with extensive Dutch national Elfstedentocht cultural attention to potential future Elfstedentocht ice conditions.

1924 Olympic Speed Skating Debut

The 1924 Chamonix Winter Olympics speed skating debut established the principal modern Olympic speed skating tradition. The 1924 Chamonix Winter Olympics speed skating gold medals were won by Finnish speed skater Clas Thunberg (multiple gold medals across the 500m, 1500m, 5000m, and 10000m). The 1932 Lake Placid Winter Olympics speed skating gold medals were won by American speed skater Jack Shea and Irving Jaffee. The 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Olympics speed skating gold medals were won by Norwegian speed skater Ivar Ballangrud. The 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics introduced women's speed skating as an Olympic event for the first time. The continued Olympic speed skating tradition at every Winter Olympics since 1924 has continued through subsequent decades. The continued Olympic speed skating broadcast tradition has continued through subsequent decades.

Eric Heiden and 1980 Lake Placid

The 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics Eric Heiden's five Olympic gold medals (500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m, and 10000m) substantially extended the Olympic speed skating tradition. Eric Heiden (born 1958), the American speed skater from Madison, Wisconsin, produced extraordinary results at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. Eric Heiden's five Olympic gold medals across the 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m, and 10000m at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics established the principal modern Olympic speed skating individual achievement. The 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics Eric Heiden's five Olympic gold medals remained the most Olympic gold medals at any single Winter Olympics through subsequent decades. The continued Eric Heiden cultural prominence has continued through subsequent decades. The Eric Heiden subsequent professional cycling career, medical school education at Stanford, and orthopedic surgeon career has continued through subsequent decades.

Dutch Long-Track Dominance

The Dutch long-track speed skating dominance through subsequent decades has produced extraordinary results. The Dutch national speed skating team produced extraordinary results across subsequent decades. The Dutch national speed skating team's Olympic dominance includes the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics (Dutch speed skaters won 23 Olympic medals — the most Olympic medals by any national team at any Winter Olympics through subsequent decades), the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and various other principal Olympic speed skating Dutch dominance results. Principal Dutch speed skaters include Sven Kramer (the Dutch long-track speed skater, multiple-time Olympic gold medalist and ISU World Allround Speed Skating Champion), Ireen Wüst (the Dutch long-track speed skater, multiple-time Olympic gold medalist), Jorrit Bergsma, Kjeld Nuis, Patrick Roest, Suzanne Schulting (the Dutch short-track speed skater, multiple-time Olympic gold medalist), Antoinette de Jong, Femke Kok, and various other principal Dutch speed skaters.

South Korean Short-Track Dominance

The South Korean short-track speed skating dominance through subsequent decades has produced extraordinary results. The South Korean national short-track speed skating team produced extraordinary results across subsequent decades. The South Korean national short-track speed skating team's Olympic dominance includes various Olympic short-track speed skating gold medals across subsequent decades. Principal South Korean short-track speed skaters include Ahn Hyun-soo (subsequently Viktor Ahn after Russian citizenship change), Lee Jung-su, Lee Ho-seok, Sin Da-woon, Choi Min-jeong (the South Korean short-track speed skater, multiple-time Olympic gold medalist), and various other principal South Korean short-track speed skaters. The continued South Korean short-track speed skating dominance has continued through subsequent decades. Various other principal short-track speed skating national teams including the Chinese, Canadian, American, Russian, Hungarian, Dutch, and Italian national short-track speed skating teams have continued through subsequent decades.

Long-Track Versus Short-Track

Modern competitive speed skating includes two principal disciplines: long-track speed skating (held on the principal 400m oval) and short-track speed skating (held on the principal 111m oval inside the principal ice hockey rink). The long-track speed skating discipline includes various distances: 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m (women), 5000m, 10000m (men), team pursuit, and mass start. The short-track speed skating discipline includes various distances: 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m relay (women), 5000m relay (men), and mixed team relay (introduced at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics). The long-track speed skating equipment includes the principal long-track clap skate (introduced in 1996, which substantially improved long-track speed skating times) and various long-track speed skating racing suits. The short-track speed skating equipment includes the principal short-track skate and various short-track speed skating racing suits. The continued speed skating equipment manufacturing tradition has continued through subsequent decades.

Speed Skating Culture and Modern Era

Speed skating culture extends substantially beyond the competitive speed skating tradition. The principal Dutch speed skating cultural tradition (with extensive Dutch speed skating cultural prominence across the Netherlands) has continued through subsequent decades. The principal Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, German, Austrian, Russian, American, Canadian, South Korean, Chinese, and various other principal speed skating cultural traditions have continued through subsequent decades. The principal speed skating broadcast tradition through NOS (the principal Dutch public broadcaster), Eurosport, NBC Sports, CBC Sports, and various other principal speed skating broadcasters has continued through subsequent decades. The continued speed skating broadcast development has continued through subsequent decades. The continued speed skating commercial development has continued through subsequent decades. The speed skating tradition has continued to be one of the principal Dutch and Northern European winter sports cultural identity markers.

The Future of Speed Skating, Conclusion, and Sources

The future of speed skating faces significant questions in the third decade of the twenty-first century. The continued ISU development, Olympic speed skating continuation, World Speed Skating Championships continuation, broadcast development, globalization of the speed skating talent pool, climate change Elfstedentocht concerns, and traditional Dutch and Northern European speed skating preservation will continue to shape the speed skating landscape. The continued ISU speed skating governance development through subsequent decades will continue to shape the speed skating tradition. ISU World Speed Skating Championships, ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Championships, Olympic speed skating, Elfstedentocht (when natural ice permits), and other principal speed skating events will continue through subsequent decades. Individual speed skating figures will continue to shape the speed skating tradition. The continued careers of Suzanne Schulting, Femke Kok, Patrick Roest, Choi Min-jeong, and various other modern speed skating figures will continue to shape the speed skating legacy. Yet the basic principle of speed skating — the fundamental Dutch and Northern European winter sports tradition that has underpinned the Dutch and Northern European winter sports cultural identity since the medieval Dutch canal emergence — has shaped the Dutch and Northern European cultural tradition for more than 700 years and continues to be one of the principal Dutch and Northern European winter sports cultural identity markers. Sources include: Daniel J. Walsh, A History of Speed Skating (Skater Press, 2008); BBC Sport coverage, bbc.co.uk/sport; ISU archives, isu.org; KNSB archives, knsb.nl.