Speed Skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics

At the time of the bid for the Milano Olympics, it was planned to hold the competitions at the South Tyrollean town of Baselga di Piné. The outdoor rink, host of the 1995 World Allround Championships and 2013 Winter Universiade, would be covered for the Olympics. However these expensive plans were abandoned as the Milano OCOG faced cost overruns. Eventually it was decided to place a temporary rink in FieraMilano, a congress and fair centre in the suburb of Rho. The Milano Speed Skating Stadium saw only one competition before the Games, a Junior/Neo-Senior World Cup held in November. This made it hard to judge the speed of the venue, and before the Games many observers expected times to be slow. The first races however showed the ice of the temporary rink was incredibly fast, with Olympic Records being recorded in many events, and unofficial lowland world records on four occasions.

Before the Games, it was rumoured that American skater Jordan Stolz might attempt to equal Eric Heiden’s five golds in Lake Placid 1980. Having dominated the 500-1000-1500 m since the last Games, he could additionally win the mass start and the team pursuit. But, in addition to Stolz not starting in the team pursuit, he did not win the four events he entered. With his two golds and a silver he was still the most successful skater of the Games, with Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida also winning two events.

As had been the case since Sochi 2014, the Netherlands won the most medals in the sport, but with five golds it was their lowest number of titles since the Vancouver Games. Italy won three golds, their first since their last home Games in 2006. Through Viktor Hald Thorup, Denmark won its first ever Olympic speed skating medal, a silver in the mass start. In addition to AIN (Individual Neutral Athletes), Spain made its début in the sport at the Olympic Games, being represented by two sprinters.