First debuting at the 1924 Chamonix Winter Olympics, speed skating involves athletes racing alongside each other, with each skater hoping to set the fastest time out of all the participants in the field.
Athletes race across a 400m oval-shaped track for individual races, where the fastest places first.
In the team pursuit, three-person squads representing two different countries compete in an eight-lap race on opposite sides of the track. Each team must race as a group, and their times are determined by the third person who crosses the finish line.
There are 16 laps in the mass start event, which is a points-based competition. Almost 24 skaters can take part at the start of the event.
There will be 14 medals for the taking across 14 events at Beijing 2022, including the women’s 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m, mass start and team pursuit; and the men’s 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m, mass start and team pursuit.
The number of speed skating events held makes it the largest sport at this year’s Winter Olympics and it runs until February 19.
Read more about all the events at Beijing 2022 here.
Source: www.cnn.com