.jpg) Competitive speed skater (Shannon Rempel 2007) | |
| Highest governing body | International Skating Union |
|---|---|
| Characteristics | |
| Mixed-sex | Yes |
| Presence | |
| Olympic | 1924 |
Long-track speed skating, usually simply referred to as speed skating, is the Olympic discipline of speed skating where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as ice skating marathon, short-track speedskating, inline speedskating, and quad speed skating are also called speed skating.
Long-track speed skating enjoys large popularity in the Netherlands and has also had champion athletes from Austria, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Japan, Italy, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and the United States. Speed skaters attain maximum speeds of 60 km/h (37 mph).