Speed skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics

At the 1932 Winter Olympics, four speed skating events were contested. For the only time in the Olympic history, the speed skating were held as pack-style events, having all competitors skate at the same time. Women were allowed to compete in speed skating for the first time in history in a set of demonstration events. The IOC was reluctant to upgrade women’s events to full medal events, although the organizing committee of the Games advocated for the full inclusion of women’s events. The distances for women were 500 m, 1000 m and 1500 m. The pack-style racing would pave the way for short track speed skating, that would debut as a demonstration event at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary before becoming an official Olympic event at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.

Speed skating
at the III Olympic Winter Games
Refer to caption
Pictogram for speed skating
VenueJames B. Sheffield Olympic Skating Rink
Date4–10 February 1932
No. of events4
Competitors31 from 6 nations
← 1928
1936 →

The men's competitions were held on Thursday, February 4, 1932, Friday, February 5, 1932, Saturday, February 6, 1932, and on Monday, February 8, 1932. The women's events were contested from Monday, February 8, 1932 to Wednesday, February 10, 1932.[1]

Medal summary

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
500 metres
details
Jack Shea
  United States
Bernt Evensen
  Norway
Alexander Hurd
  Canada
1500 metres
details
Jack Shea
  United States
Alexander Hurd
  Canada
Willy Logan
  Canada
5000 metres
details
Irving Jaffee
  United States
Eddie Murphy
  United States
Willy Logan
  Canada
10,000 metres
details
Irving Jaffee
  United States
Ivar Ballangrud
  Norway
Frank Stack
  Canada

Women's events

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Speed skating events for women were demonstration events at the 1932 Games, so no official medals were awarded. Two nations, the USA and Canada, with 10 competitors entered the competition. Like the men's races that used the mass start racing in heats, the women's races were as well. The official results show the winning time for each event.

Event 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place
500 metres
details
Jean Wilson
  Canada
Elizabeth Dubois
  United States
Kit Klein
  United States
1000 metres
details
Elizabeth Dubois
  United States
Hattie Donaldson
  Canada
Dorothy Franey
  United States
1500 metres
details
Kit Klein
  United States
Jean Wilson
  Canada
Helen Bina
  United States

Participating nations

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Eight speed skaters competed in all four events. A total of 31 male speed skaters from six nations competed at the Lake Placid Games. In addition, ten female speed skaters (five from the United States as well as five from Canada) competed in the women's demonstration events.

Medal table

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  United States4105
2  Norway0202
3  Canada0145
Totals (3 entries)44412

References

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  1. ^ "Speed Skating at the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
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