Speed skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics
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Speed skating at the 1968 Winter Olympics, was held from 4 to 12 February. Eight events were contested at L'Anneau de Vitesse in Grenoble, France.[1][2]
| Speed skating at the X Olympic Winter Games | |
|---|---|
 Pictogram for speed skating | |
| Venue | L'Anneau de Vitesse |
| Date | 4–12 February 1968 |
| No. of events | 8 |
| Competitors | 129 from 19 nations |
Medal summary
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Netherlands | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 |  Norway | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 |  Finland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
 Soviet Union | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 5 |  Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 |  West Germany | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 |  United States | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Totals (7 entries) | 8 | 12 | 5 | 25 | |
The Netherlands topped the medal table, with nine medals, three of each type. Three tied events meant that only five bronze medals were awarded. The gold medal won by Erhard Keller was the first medal in speedskating for West Germany as a separate country.
Five athletes shared the top of the individual medal table, with one gold and one silver each: Kees Verkerk and Carry Geijssen of the Netherlands, Finland's Kaija Mustonen, the Soviet Union's Lyudmila Titova and Norway's Fred Anton Maier.
Three American female skaters were tied for a silver in the women's 500 meters, all showing the same time.
Men's events
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 metres |
Bill Cox West Germany | 40.3 | Terry McDermott United States Magne Thomassen Norway | 40.5 | None awarded | |
| 1500 metres |
Kees Verkerk Netherlands | 2:03.4 (OR) |
Ivar Eriksen Norway Ard Schenk Netherlands | 2:05.0 | None awarded | |
| 5000 metres |
Fred Anton Maier Norway | 7:22.4 (WR) |
Kees Verkerk Netherlands | 7:23.2 | Peter Nottet Netherlands | 7:25.5 |
| 10,000 metres |
Johnny Höglin Sweden | 15:23.6 (OR) |
Fred Anton Maier Norway | 15:23.9 | Örjan Sandler Sweden | 15:31.8 |
Women's events
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 metres |
Lyudmila Titova Soviet Union | 46.1 | Jenny Fish United States Dianne Holum United States Mary Meyers United States | 46.3 | None awarded | |
| 1000 metres |
Carry Geijssen Netherlands | 1:32.6 (OR) |
Lyudmila Titova Soviet Union | 1:32.9 | Dianne Holum United States | 1:33.4 |
| 1500 metres |
Kaija Mustonen Finland | 2:22.4 (OR) |
Carry Geijssen Netherlands | 2:22.7 | Stien Kaiser Netherlands | 2:24.5 |
| 3000 metres |
Ans Schut Netherlands | 4:56.2 (OR) |
Kaija Mustonen Finland | 5:01.0 | Stien Kaiser Netherlands | 5:01.3 |
Records
One world record and six Olympic records were set at Grenoble. The only Olympic records not broken were in the two shortest events, the men's and women's 500 metres.[3][4]
| Event | Date | Team | Time | OR | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 1500 metres | 16 February | Kees Verkerk (NED) | 2:03.4 | OR | |
| Men's 5000 metres | 15 February | Fred Anton Maier (NOR) | 7:22.4 | OR | WR |
| Men's 10,000 metres | 17 February | Johnny Höglin (SWE) | 15:23.6 | OR | |
| Women's 1000 metres | 11 February | Carry Geijssen (NED) | 1:32.6 | OR | |
| Women's 1500 metres | 10 February | Kaija Mustonen (FIN) | 2:22.4 | OR | |
| Women's 3000 metres | 12 February | Ans Schut (NED) | 4:56.2 | OR |
Participating NOCs
Nineteen nations competed in the speed skating events at Grenoble. East and West Germany made their debuts as separate teams.
Australia (1)
Austria (3)
Canada (7)
Finland (8)
France (5)
East Germany (1)- West Germany (8)
Great Britain (5)
Hungary (3)
Italy (4)
Japan (12)
South Korea (2)
Mongolia (3)
Netherlands (9)
Norway (13)
Soviet Union (16)
Sweden (11)
Switzerland (3)
United States (15)
