Speed skating: How to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 

The speed skating competition at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will feature 164 of the world’s greatest speed skaters vying for Olympic medals at the Milano Ice Park.

Milano Cortina 2026 will include seven events for men and seven for women, including 500m (men’s and women’s), 1000m (men’s and women’s), 1500m (men’s and women’s), 3000m (women’s), 5000m (men’s and women’s), 10000m (men’s), team pursuit (men’s and women’s) and mass start (men’s and women’s).

Speed skating made its Olympic debut all the way back at Chamonix 1924, with women first competing eight years later at Lake Placid 1932 when it was included as a demonstration sport. Women’s speed skating was officially added to the Olympic programme at Squaw Valley 1960.

Legends of the sport of speed skating include the likes of the Netherlands’ Ireen Wust (the most decorated Olympic speed skater with six gold medals, five silver and two bronze) and the USA’s five-time Olympic gold medallist Eric Heiden.

Others who have thrilled Olympic audiences include Dutch skater Sven Kramer (nine medals including four golds) and Japan’s Miho Takagi (seven medals including two golds).

Now, the world’s top speed skaters have the opportunity to create their own slice of history - starting with qualifying for Milano Cortina 2026.

Find out everything you need to know about the Olympic qualification system in speed skating, including the number of athletes in each event and the qualification timeline.

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How to qualify for the speed skating competition at Milano Cortina 2026

Speed skaters will earn quotas for their National Olympic Committees through the Special Olympic Qualification Classifications (SOQCS) based on results from ISU World Cup Competitions during the 2025/2026 season.

Quotas will be allocated based on the SOQC Points ranking (based on points achieved at specific World Cup events) and the SOQC Times ranking (based on the best times per athlete achieved at specific World Cup events).

There is also a maximum number of quotas per NOC available for each event (e.g. a maximum of three quotas per NOC for the women’s 500m event).

For a full explanation of the qualification process, please check the official documents here.

What are the key dates for speed skating qualification for Milano Cortina 2026?

1 July 2025: ISU will announce qualifying times

1 July 2025-18 January 2026: Period to achieve qualifying times

1 August 2025: ISU announces qualifying competitions (ISU World Cup Speed Skating Competitions) to determine Special Olympic Qualifying Classifications and subsequently NOC quota places

1 November-14 December 2025: ISU World Cup Speed Skating Competitions determining the SOQC

19 December 2025: Publication of SOQC

26 January 2026: Milano Cortina 2026 Sport Entries deadline

How many athletes will compete in speed skating at Milano Cortina 2026?

A total of 164 athletes will take part in the speed skating competitions at Milano Cortina 2026, spread over the different events of the sport's Olympic programme as follows:

Men’s 500m: 28*

Men’s 1000m: 28*

Men’s 1500m: 28*

Men’s 5000m: 20

Men’s 10000m: 12

Men’s mass start: 24*

Men’s team pursuit: 8 teams

Women’s 500m: 28*

Women’s 1000m: 28*

Women’s 1500m: 28*

Women’s 3000m: 20

Women’s 5000m: 12

Women’s mass start: 24*

Women’s team pursuit: 8 teams

*Additional competitors, up to a maximum total of 30, may be added during the Games.

Milano Cortina 2026 speed skating competition format and schedule

The speed skating competition at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games will include the following events:

Men’s 500m

Men’s 1000m

Men’s 1500m

Men’s 5000m

Men’s 10000m

Men’s mass start

Men’s team pursuit

Women’s 500m

Women’s 1000m

Women’s 1500m

Women’s 3000m

Women’s 5000m

Women’s mass start

Women’s team pursuit

The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will take place from 6 to 22 February 2026.

Olympic champions in speed skating from the last Olympic Winter Games

Men’s 10000m

• 🥇 Gold: Nils Van Der Poel (Sweden)
• 🥈 Silver: Patrick Roest (Netherlands)
• 🥉 Bronze: David Ghiotto (Italy)

Men’s 1000m

• 🥇 Gold: Thomas Krol (Netherlands)
• 🥈 Silver: Laurent Dubreil (Canada)
• 🥉 Bronze: Harvard Lorentzen (Norway)

Men’s 1500m

• 🥇 Gold: Kjeld Nuis (Netherlands)
• 🥈 Silver: Thomas Krol (Netherlands)
• 🥉 Bronze: Kim Min Seok (Republic of Korea)

Men’s 5000m

• 🥇 Gold: Niels Van Der Poel (Sweden)
• 🥈 Silver: Patrick Roest (Netherlands)
• 🥉 Bronze: Hallgeir Engebraaten (Norway)

Men’s 500m

• 🥇 Gold: Gao Tingyu (People’s Republic of China)
• 🥈 Silver: Cha Min Kyu (Republic of Korea)
• 🥉 Bronze: Morishige Wataru (Japan)

Men’s mass start

• 🥇 Gold: Bart Swings (Belgium)
• 🥈 Silver: Chung Jaewon (Republic of Korea)
• 🥉 Bronze: Lee Seung Hoon (Republic of Korea)

Men’s team pursuit

• 🥇 Gold: Norway
• 🥈 Silver: ROC
• 🥉 Bronze: USA

Women’s 1000m

• 🥇 Gold: Takagi Miho (Japan)
• 🥈 Silver: Jutta Leerdam (Netherlands)
• 🥉 Bronze: Brittany Bowe (USA)

Women’s 1500m

• 🥇 Gold: Ireen Wust (Netherlands)
• 🥈 Silver: Takagi Miho (Japan)
• 🥉 Bronze: Antoinette De Jong (Netherlands)

Women’s 3000m

• 🥇 Gold: Irene Schouten (Netherlands)
• 🥈 Silver: Francesca Lollobrigida (Italy)
• 🥉 Bronze: Isabelle Weidemann (Canada)

Women’s 5000m

• 🥇 Gold: Irene Schouten (Netherlands)
• 🥈 Silver: Isabelle Weidemann (Canada)
• 🥉 Bronze: Martina Sablikova (Czechia)

Women’s 500m

• 🥇 Gold: Erin Jackson (USA)
• 🥈 Silver: Takagi Miho (Japan)
• 🥉 Bronze: Angelina Golikova (ROC)

Women’s mass start

• 🥇 Gold: Irene Schouten (Netherlands)
• 🥈 Silver: Ivanie Blondin (Canada)
• 🥉 Bronze: Francesca Lollobrigida (Italy)

Women’s team pursuit

• 🥇 Gold: Canada
• 🥈 Silver: Japan
• 🥉 Bronze: Netherlands

As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Milano Cortina Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Milano Cortina 2026