History of speed skating

Skating is unbelievable; probably everyone’s breath is taken away when they see athletes “flying” across the ice, competing with only one worthy opponent – the wind. And how long ago did people start to overcome distances at speed, and even on skates? Skating, like every sport, has its own special history.

The birth of speed skating and the first mentions of it

Speed skating is considered one of the first sports invented by man. The oldest is probably only athletics and wrestling, which were in great esteem among the Greeks and Romans, and have been known since 776 BC.
In one of the museums of Odessa are stored skates, which are about 3200 years old. They were used by the people of the Northern Black Sea coast – Cimmerians. Notable is the size of skates (if transferring to the modern Russian sizes): 38-39.
The first written information about skates dates back to 1174. A Canterbury monk named Stephenius tells about this wonderful device in his work “Chronicle of the noble city of London”.
Turning to the etymology of the English word “speed skating”, we find this fact worthy confirmation, because it is translated as “speed skating.

The very skates and directly skating on them can be seen in a painting dating back to 1380.

In 1604, chronicles mention the appearance of the first skating club in Edinburgh.

The “sprouts” of skating sports were brought to Russia along with potatoes from Holland by Peter the Great. However, after his death, this “project” was put into a long drawer.

Skating as a competition

A friendly meeting, which received international publicity, was recorded in 1763. Two teams took part: one from the United States and one from Great Britain. Any particular rules or regulations at the competition did not yet exist. Operated the principle of “who is fastest. Rules were formulated and published in a printed version in England only 9 years later.

In 30-ies of XIX century, we can document the mass emergence of skating clubs around the world, starting with the U.S. and ending with Russia. It was then that major Russian cities, such as St. Petersburg and Moscow, began to create ice rinks open to all comers.

In 1889 Amsterdam hosted the most significant event for the sport of speed skating – the first World Championship. It was, however, unofficial. The champion was a Russian athlete – Alexei Panshin. In 1892, the newly created International Skating Union gave them the status of professional competitions. Subsequently, these competitions began to be held every year until the present day. The International Skating Federation oversees all organizational and technical issues related to the competitions.

In 1924, men’s speed skating was included in the Olympic Winter Games program. Since 1960, speed skating has been included in women’s events. Competitions were held in four disciplines – 500, 1500, 5000, 10000 meters and all-around. Now the Olympic Games include distances – 500, 1000, 1500, 3000, 5000, 10,000 meters for men, and 500, 1000, 1500, 3000 meters for women.

In order to begin to delve into a phenomenon, to take an interest in it, the first thing to do is to study its origins – its history. Only when you understand how the sport of speed skating began, you get a coherent idea of it in your head. This sport, which appeared in the last century, firmly entered our lives and to this day does not lose its popularity.