Editing Speed skating (section)

==Overview==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2020}}
[[File:Jan Smeekens (23-02-2008).jpg|thumb|[[Long track speed skating]], [[Thialf]], 2008]]
The standard rink for long track is 400 meters long,<ref name=rules>{{Cite web|url=https://www.isu.org/inside-isu/rules-regulations/isu-statutes-constitution-regulations-technical/special-regulations-and-technical-rules/34212-short-track-speed-skating-2024/file|title=Special Rules and Regulations Speed Skating 2024|date=20 September 2022|website=www.isu.org/}}</ref> but tracks of 200, 250 and 333{{frac|1|3}}&nbsp;meters are used occasionally. It is one of two Olympic forms of the sport and the one with the longer history.

ISU rules allow some leeway in the size and radius of curves.

[[Short track speed skating]] takes place on a smaller rink, normally the size of an [[ice hockey]] rink, on a 111.12&nbsp;m oval track.<ref name=rulesshorttrack>{{Cite web|url=https://www.isu.org/inside-isu/rules-regulations/isu-statutes-constitution-regulations-technical/special-regulations-and-technical-rules/29543-speed-skating-2022/file|title=Special Rules and Regulations Short Track Speed Skating 2024|date=7 August 2024|website=www.isu.org/}}</ref> Distances are shorter than in long-track racing, with the longest Olympic individual race being 1500 meters (the women's relay is 3000 meters and the men's relay 5000 meters). Events are usually held with a knockout format, with the best two in heats of four or five qualifying for the final race, where medals are awarded. Disqualifications and falls are not uncommon.

[[File:Veit Dubiel 2008-11-02.jpg|thumb|Individual start]]
[[File:The Soviet Union 1988 CPA 5923 stamp with label (1988 World Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men. Skater. Emblem. Alma-Ata ice rink, Medeo).jpg|thumb|Speed skating on a stamp]]

There are variations on the mass-start races. In the regulations of roller sports, eight different types of mass starts are described. Among them are elimination races, where one or more competitors are eliminated at fixed points during the course; simple distance races, which may include preliminary races; [[Endurance race (disambiguation)|endurance races]] with time limits instead of a fixed distance; [[points race]]s; and individual pursuits.

Races usually have rules about disqualification if an opponent is unfairly hindered; these rules vary between the disciplines. In long track speed skating, almost any infringement on the pairmate is punished, though skaters are permitted to change from the inner to the outer lane out of the final curve if they are not able to hold the inner curve, as long as they are not interfering with the other skater. In mass-start races, skaters will usually be allowed some physical contact.

Team races are also held; in long track speed skating, the only team race at the highest level of competition is the [[long track speed skating#Team pursuit|team pursuit]], though athletics-style [[relay race]]s are held at children's competitions. Relay races are also held in short track and inline competitions, but here exchanges may take place at any time during the race, though exchanges may be banned during the last couple of laps.

Most speed skating races are held on an oval course, but there are exceptions. Oval sizes vary; in short track speed skating, the rink must be an oval of 111.12 metres, while long track speed skating uses a similarly standardized 400&nbsp;m rink. Inline skating rinks are between 125 and 400 metres, though banked tracks can only be 250 metres long. Inline skating can also be held on closed road courses between 400 and 1,000 metres, as well as open-road competitions where starting and finishing lines do not coincide. This is also a feature of outdoor marathons.

In the Netherlands, marathon competitions may be held on natural ice on canals, and bodies of water such as lakes and rivers, but may also be held on artificially frozen 400&nbsp;m tracks, with skaters circling the track 100 times, for example.