how fast do speed skaters go in the olympics
Olympic speed skaters can hit highway-level speeds on the ice, especially in the shorter sprint events.
Top speeds in Olympic speed skating
- In long-track sprint races (500 m), elite skaters reach about 55–60 km/h (34–37 mph) at top speed.
- The men’s 500 m Olympic record is 34.32 seconds; over 500 m that works out to an average speed around the mid‑50 km/h range, with peak speed a bit higher in the middle of the race.
- Women’s 500 m record holders, with times under 37 seconds, average just over 48 km/h (30 mph), again with peaks higher than the average.
Longer distances: still very fast
Even in endurance races, they barely slow down.
- In the men’s 5000 m, the new Olympic record of 6:03.95 means an average speed of roughly 49–50 km/h (about 30–31 mph) over more than 12 laps.
- In the women’s 3000 m, the 2026 Olympic record time of 3:54.28 also translates to an average in the high‑40 km/h range.
So even when they’re pacing themselves, they’re essentially doing a sustained sprint by normal skating standards.
Short track vs long track
When people ask “how fast do speed skaters go in the Olympics,” they often mix up long track (the 400 m oval) and short track (tight 111 m track with pack racing).
- In short track , skaters typically reach 30+ mph (around 48+ km/h) despite the tighter corners and traffic.
- In long track , with smoother curves and more space, absolute speeds are a bit higher, which is why the fastest average speeds and records come from those events.
Quick reference table
Below is a simple look at how fast Olympic speed skaters go in different events (approximate average race speeds based on record times).
| Event type | Distance | Typical / record context | Approx. average speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s long-track sprint | 500 m | Olympic record 34.32 s (Gao Tingyu) | Mid‑50 km/h (≈34 mph)+ | [1][3]
| Women’s long-track sprint | 500 m | Olympic record 36.94 s (Nao Kodaira) | Just over 48 km/h (≈30 mph) average, with higher peaks | [3][1]
| Men’s long- track distance | 5000 m | Olympic record 6:03.95 (Sander Eitrem) | About 49–50 km/h (≈30–31 mph) average | [5][3]
| Women’s long-track distance | 3000 m | Olympic record 3:54.28 (Francesca Lollobrigida) | High‑40 km/h average (≈29–30 mph) | [7][3]
| Short track speed skating | Various (e.g., 500–1500 m) | Pack racing on 111 m track | Over 30 mph (≈48+ km/h) peak speeds | [9][8]
Story-style snapshot
Imagine standing by the boards of a 400 m Olympic oval: two skaters streak past, each lap taking just over half a minute, blades carving the ice with a low hiss. One of them is on pace for a 500 m time around 34 seconds, which means if you put them on a road, they’d be keeping up with city traffic — but balancing on 1 mm‑thick blades and leaning deeply into the turns. Over 5000 m or 3000 m, they don’t just sprint and fade; they hold that pace for minutes, lap after lap, chasing fractions of a second that separate gold from fourth place.
TL;DR: Olympic speed skaters typically go around 50–60 km/h (30–37 mph) in the fastest races, with slightly lower but still blistering speeds in the longer distances and in short track events.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.