how fast are olympic speed skaters

Olympic speed skaters are typically moving at about 30–37 mph (48–60 km/h) in competition, with special record attempts showing they can go even faster in ideal conditions.

How fast are Olympic speed skaters?

• Long track (400 m oval): Elite skaters race at around 60 km/h (37 mph) during Olympic‑level events.

• Short track (111 m oval): Skaters often reach about 30–31 mph (48–50 km/h) in races.

• Lap examples: A fast short‑track lap can be under 9 seconds , which corresponds to roughly 31 mph.

• Record‑style top speeds: In a special long straight natural‑ice setup (not a standard Olympic oval), Dutch skater Kjeld Nuis has been clocked at about 103 km/h (64 mph).

So in regular Olympic racing, think “city driving speed” on ice; in special record runs, they briefly hit “highway” speeds.

Long track vs short track speeds

• Long track:
  • Typical race speeds near 35–37 mph depending on distance and pacing.

* Longer races (like 5,000 m and 10,000 m) involve managing fatigue, so skaters balance **top speed** with endurance.

• Short track:
  • Average speeds are around 30 mph , with bursts a bit above that on the fastest laps.

* Racing is in packs, so tactics, traffic, and passing can slightly slow raw speed compared with a pure time trial.

Simple speed snapshot (race conditions)

• “Normal” Olympic race speeds: 30–37 mph (48–60 km/h).

• Special speed-record setups: just over 100 km/h (≈64 mph).

If you imagine sprinting on foot at your absolute maximum, top speed skating at the Olympics is significantly faster than that — and they hold it for multiple laps.

TL;DR:
How fast are Olympic speed skaters? In real races, they usually skate at 30–37 mph (48–60 km/h) , with rare record attempts breaking 100 km/h (≈64 mph) on carefully prepared natural ice.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.