Speed skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics

Speed Skating
at the III Olympic Winter Games
VenueJames B. Sheffield Olympic Skating Rink
DatesFebruary 4-10
Competitors31 from 6 nations

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 packstyle events, having all competitors skate at the same time. This competition form was not common in Europe and gave the runners from the United States and Canada a major advantage over the European rivals. Only two medals went to Europeans. Women were allowed to compete but only as part of demonstration sport events. The distances for women were 500 m, 1000 m and 1500 m. The packstyle 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.

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.

Medal summary

Event Gold Silver Bronze
500 metres
Jack Shea
 United States
Bernt Evensen
 Norway
Alexander Hurd
 Canada
1500 metres
Jack Shea
 United States
Alexander Hurd
 Canada
Willy Logan
 Canada
5000 metres
Irving Jaffee
 United States
Eddie Murphy
 United States
Willy Logan
 Canada
10000 metres
Irving Jaffee
 United States
Ivar Ballangrud
 Norway
Frank Stack
 Canada

Women's events

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 compared to racing in pairs in Europe, the women's races were as well. The official results only show the winning time for each event.

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

Participating nations

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

Only men's events counted.

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States 4 1 0 5
2  Norway 0 2 0 2
3  Canada 0 1 4 5

References

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