The 2026 Winter Games will mark over a century of speed skating at the Olympics. After making its debut in 1924, the sport has been included at each Winter Olympics since.

In speed skating, athletes race against each other and the clock around a 400m indoor oval track. Athletes are ranked based on the time taken to skate the prescribed distance.

In the mass start events, which debuted in 2018, athletes start together and race against their competitors, in contrast to the traditional long track, which are timed and include heats. In the team pursuit, each team features three athletes who compete in elimination races to reach the final.

Historically, the Netherlands has been the most dominant speed staking nation, having won over 20% of all speed skating medals at the Winter Olympics. This trend continued at the Beijing Games in 2022, when the Dutch collected 12 of 42 medals, plus six of 14 golds.

Speed skating at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will take place from Saturday, Feb. 1 to Saturday, Feb. 15, ending with the men's and women's mass start finals. Stay tuned on the NBC Olympics schedule page for updates.

Speed skating at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will be held at the Fiera Milano Exhibition Center.

When it was awarded the Olympics in 2019, organizers initially planned for speed skating to take place under a roof at an outdoor track at Baselga di Piné, situated between Milan and Cortina.

The IOC rejected the plan, however, due to high costs. The 2006 Olympic oval in Turin had also been considered, but in the end, officials unanimously approved the Fiera site as the venue.

The Exhibition Center will also host the International Broadcasting Center and the Main Press Center at the Olympics. For speed skating, the 400-meter track will be surrounded by stands that are expected to fit 6,500 fans. A separate training track is also planned at the site.