Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. In the Olympic Games, long-track speed skating is usually referred to as just "speed skating", while short-track speed skating is known as "short track". The International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body of competitive ice sports, refers to long track as "speed skating" and short track as "short track skating".
Johann Olav Koss, is a former speed skater from Norway. He won four Olympic gold medals, including three at the 1994 Winter Olympics in his home country.
Hjalmar "Hjallis" Johan Andersen was a speed skater from Norway who won three gold medals at the 1952 Winter Olympic Games of Oslo, Norway. He was the only triple gold medalist at the 1952 Winter Olympics, and as such, became the most successful athlete there.
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Generally held in March, the World Championships are considered the most prestigious of the ISU Figure Skating Championships. With the exception of the Olympic title, a world title is considered to be the highest competitive achievement in figure skating.
Ivar Eugen Ballangrud was a Norwegian speed skater, a four-time Olympic champion in speed skating. As the only triple gold medalist at the 1936 Winter Olympics, Ballangrud was the most successful athlete there.
Bislett Stadium is a sports stadium in Oslo, Norway. Bislett is Norway's most well known sports arena internationally, with 15 speed skating world records and more than 50 track and field world records having been set here. The original stadium was demolished in 2004 and construction of a new stadium was completed by the summer of 2005. The New Bislett Stadium was designed by C.F. Møller Architects.
Oscar Wilhelm Mathisen was a Norwegian speed skater and celebrity, almost rivalling Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen as symbols for a young nation. He represented Kristiania Skøiteklub.
Knut ("Kupper'n") Johannesen is a former speed skater from Norway.
Jan Egil Storholt is a former speed skater from Norway. He was born in Løkken Verk which at the time was part of the Meldal municipality.
Per Ivar Moe is a former speed skater from Norway.
Bjørg Eva Jensen is a speed skater from Norway. She had her best year in 1980, when she became junior world allround champion, finished third at the senior allround world championships, and won the 3,000 m event at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
Laila Schou Nilsen was one of the foremost Norwegian sportspeople of the 20th century, best known as a speed skater, alpine skier, and tennis player. She was one of the pioneers in women's speed skating, both in Norway and internationally, along with two other skaters from the Oslo Skøiteklub, Undis Blikken and Synnøve Lie. Across her sporting career – which also included handball, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, and motorsport – Nilsen won 101 Norwegian Championship titles, of which 86 were in tennis.
Magne Thomassen is a former speed skater from Norway. He participated in international championships over a period of more than ten years. He took part in 23 country matches for Norway in the period 1959–1971 and competed in the European Speed Skating Championships, World Allround Speed Skating Championships and World Sprint Speed Skating Championships between 1962 and 1972.
Dag Fornæss is a former speed skater from Norway who won the Norwegian, European, and World Allround Championships in 1969. He was born in Hamar.
The Nordic Championships are an annual elite figure skating competition, originally open only to skaters from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. However, representatives of any ISU member nation may enter the senior-level events since 2011 and the junior-level events since 2020. The novice-level competitions remain restricted to Nordic countries. Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance at the senior, junior, and novice levels.
The 2007 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships were held in Vikingskipet, Hamar, on 20–21 January 2007. They were the 36th World Championships, and it was the third time the Championships were held in Hamar. Several of the world's top skaters, including the top two from the 2006 men's and women's standings, did not take part in the competition, while Lee Kang-seok (men), Lee Sang-hwa and Wang Beixing (women), all among the top three in the 500 meter World Cup rankings, did not take part as they are competing in other colliding tournaments.
Michael Staksrud was a Norwegian World Champion in speed skating.
Mari Hemmer is a Norwegian long-track speed skater, with particular strength in the longer distances 3000 m and 5000 m. She is the Norwegian Allround Champion for 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, the Norwegian Sprint Champion for 2005, 2009, 2010, and has also won numerous gold, silver, and bronze medals from national championships at single distances. Along with fellow skaters Maren Haugli and Hege Bøkko, Hemmer has in recent years represented Norway at the European Championships, the World Allround Championships and the World Single Distance Championships, as well as in the World Cup. Hemmer is the holder of the current Norwegian record on 10000 m.
Hege Bøkko is a Norwegian long-track speedskater, and the younger sister of Håvard Bøkko.
The 1994 Winter Olympics were held in and around Lillehammer, Norway, from 12 to 27 February 1994. Ten competition and fourteen non-competition venues were used, most of which were subsequently used for the 1994 Winter Paralympics. The Games were spread out over ten venues in five municipalities in two counties, Oppland and Hedmark. Lillehammer, with approximately 25,000 inhabitants, and Hamar and Gjøvik, both with approximately 27,000 inhabitants, are all situated on the lake Mjøsa. Gjøvik and Hamar are 45 and 54 kilometers south of Lillehammer, respectively. Hunderfossen is 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) north of Lillehammer, but located within the municipality. Øyer and Ringebu, each with just under 5,000 inhabitants, are 18 and 50 kilometers north of Lillehammer, respectively, in the valley Gudbrandsdalen. Lillehammer had four competition venues, Hamar had two competition venues, while Hunderfossen, Gjøvik, Øyer and Ringebu had one competition venue each.