10,000 metres, Men

As with the other distances, season times were a poor indication of favorites, as only the Finns had been training in Davos - the fastest rink at the time. There, Julius Skutnabb had recorded 18:02.4. Skutnabb was a veteran, 34 years old. He had already competed internationally prior to World War I, and was still among the top skaters when competition resumed in the 1920s.

Skutnabb was drawn against his teammate, Clas Thunberg. He had already won two Olympic titles and was virtually certain of the allround gold as well. He was not considered a strong 10000 m skater, and the two struck a deal to help Skutnabb win a gold medal as well. The plan worked perfectly, as they recorded the first and second best times of the competition. The Norwegians, who had been 1-2-3 up to that time moved down in the standings. The only remaining Norwegian was Frithjof Paulsen, a long distance specialist. With 18:13.0, he fell just short of the medals.

Chamonix would become Skutnabb’s lucky rink, as he won his only other major title there as well. In 1926, he won the European Championships with three distance victories out of four races.