Speed skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics


at the 1976 Winter Olympics, was held from 5 to 14 February. Nine events were contested at Eisschnelllaufbahn Innsbruck. This was the first Olympics which included the men's 1000 metres, and the first change to the men's program at the Olympics since the elimination of the all-round event in 1928.

Medal summary

Medal table

The Soviet Union led the medal table, with four gold and nine overall. The silver medal for East Germany's Andrea Ehrig-Mitscherlich was the country's first in speed skating.
Tatyana Averina led the individual medal table, winning a medal in all four women's events, two gold and two bronze. Sheila Young won three medals one of each value on the three shortest distances for women,. The most successful male skaters were Norway's Sten Stensen and the Netherlands' Piet Kleine, who both won one gold and one silver medal, splitting the long distance events. The dutch speed skater Hans van Helden von the bronze-medals on all the three longest distances for men. The Soviet Union speed skater Valery Muratov also got a multiple set of medals with a silver medal in the 500 metres event and the bronze medal in the 1000 metres event.

Men's events

Women's events

Records

Eight out of the nine events, including the debuting men's 1000 metres, had new Olympic records set, with only the men's 5000 metres record remaining unbroken.
EventDateTeamTimeORWR
Men's 500 metres10 February39.17OR
Men's 1000 metres12 February1:19.32OR
Men's 1500 metres13 February1:59.38OR
Men's 10000 metres14 February14:50.59OR
Women's 500 metres6 February42.76OR
Women's 1000 metres7 February1:28.43OR
Women's 1500 metres5 February2:16.58OR
Women's 3000 metres8 February4:45.19OR

Participating NOCs

Nineteen nations competed in the speed skating events at Innsbruck.
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