Speed skating

Speed Skating is a sport in which it is necessary to overcome a certain distance as quickly as possible in an ice stadium in a closed circle. Speed skating is one of the oldest sports. The oldest skates discovered by archaeologists belonged to the Cimerians, a nomadic tribe that lived 3,200 years ago in the Northern Black Sea region. And the first person who thought of riveting skates to shoes was the Russian Emperor Peter the Great. Building ships in the “skating” Holland at the beginning of the XVIII century, he became interested in speed skating.

In 1742, the world’s first skating club was established in Great Britain. The first officially recorded competitions were held in Great Britain in January 1763. This country was the first in the world to organize a national championship, held on December 8, 1879. As a sport, speed skating was developed in the second half of the 19th century.

The International Skating Union ISU – ISU was founded in 1892 and unites more than 60 national federations.

In 1889, the first World Speed Skating Championships were held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The International Skating Union declared these competitions professional and held the first official men’s World Championship in Amsterdam in 1893. The Women’s World Championships have been held since 1936. The World Championships in the sprint all-around 500 and 1000 m have been held since 1972.

European Championships for men have been held since 1893, and for women since 1970. The first official world champion is the Dutchman Eden, and the European champion is the Swede Eriksson. Both athletes won these titles in 1893.

Men’s speed skating has been included in the program of the Winter Olympic Games since 1924, and women’s competitions have been held since 1960. The championship was played at four distances – 500, 1500, 5000, 10000 m (3000m for women).

The modern program of the Winter Olympic Games includes 5 individual distances: short – 500, 1000 and 1500 m, and long – 3000 (for women since 1988), 5000 and 10000 m (for men), as well as team pursuit for men and women – a total of 12 disciplines.

Soviet speed skaters first entered the start of the VII Winter Olympics in 1956 (Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy) and won 7 medals. Evgeny Grishin became the first Olympic champion, winning 500 meters with a world record. Then he won the 1500 meters together with teammate Yuri Mikhailov, and again with a world record. Four years later, in 1960, at the Olympics in Squaw Valley, USA, E.Grishin again wins the 500 and 1500 meters. Young Lydia Skoblikova, who won 1500 and 3000 meters, also declared herself here. But her talent really shone at the next Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria in 1964, where she won all 4 gold awards and became a 6-time Olympic champion, for which she received the nickname “Ural Lightning” for all time. And that’s what the skating stadium in her native Chelyabinsk is called now.

On the territory of Belarus, the first pair of skates made of animal bones was found during excavations in the area of Polotsk and belongs to the XI century by archaeologists. According to historical data, the first “Skating Lovers Club” was opened in Minsk in 1904. The first official competitions – the First championship of Minsk is dated 1925. At the 4th All-Belarusian Winter Festival in 1928, speed skating was included in the competition program. And since 1932, republican competitions among schoolchildren have been held. The most famous Belarusian speed skater in the pre-war years was the Honored Master of Sports of the USSR Boris Bolshakov, who became the Champion of the Soviet Union at a distance of 500 meters in January 1941.

The 60s of the last 20th century introduced the talented Belarusian speed skater Eduard Matusevich to the skating world. Starting his sporting career with gymnastics, this tall and versatile athlete could prove himself in various sports, playing for the Institute’s national team in handball and basketball, cycling. But the talent was especially evident in the “skates”. In the early 60s, he broke into the national team of the Soviet Union, becoming its leader. Having won several USSR championships, setting world records 6 times, Eduard achieved the greatest success in the international arena by becoming the Absolute European Champion in the classic all-around in 1965. In 1968, at the world Championships in Norway, E.Matusevich became the silver medalist in the all-around and won a small gold medal at a distance of 1500 meters. At the Olympics, the athlete’s performances were not so successful: at his “crown” distance of 1500 meters in 1964 in Innsbruck, he took 6th place, and in 1968 in Grenoble 8th place. Then the Soviet skaters “went into the shadows” because ice rinks with artificial ice have begun to be put into operation abroad. And only after such ice rinks appeared in the USSR in the 70s (Moscow, Kolomna, Sverdlovsk, Kiev and the famous Medeo near Alma-Ata), Soviet runners began to take leading positions in the world again.

It is gratifying that Belarusians were not “guests at this holiday” either. From the mid-80s until the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, the world speed skating sprint can be called the “Igor Zhelezovsky era”. During this period, he became the Absolute World Champion 6 times in the sprint all-around. Honorary Citizen of the cityOrsha (the birthplace of I.Zhelezovsky), being a multiple world record holder and World Cup winner, unfortunately, he was never able to conquer the skating Olympus. Speaking at 3 Olympic Games, he was able to win “only” a bronze medal in Calgary-88 and a silver medal in Lillehammer-94. From that period until 2005, he headed the Belarusian Skating Union NGO, making a significant contribution to the development of speed skating in our country.

From 2001 to 2005, Minsk resident Angelika Kotyuga successfully represented Belarus on the international stage. She has repeatedly become the winner and medalist of the World Championships and World Cups in the sprint distances of 500 and 1000 meters.

In these already “independent” years, Belarus was adequately represented by young athletes. Thus, Minsk resident Vitaly Novichenko (1994) and Vitebsk athlete Vitaly Mikhailov (2004) became bronze medalists at the World Junior Championships. Unfortunately, they could not develop their success at the adult level, for various reasons. But first of all, of course, because of the lack of an artificial track in Belarus at that time. With the commissioning of the state-of-the-art Minsk Arena sports complex with a Skating Stadium, there is hope that in a few years we will have “heirs” of our famous Champions in the past.

Public Association “Belarusian Skating Union”
Legal address: 220600 Minsk, Kirova str. 8/ 2
Tel.: +375 (17) 228-51-94
Chairman – Nikolay Konstantinovich Ananyev

Specialized educational and sports institutions that develop speed skating in the city of Minsk.

State institution “City Center of the Olympic Reserve in Ice disciplines”
Actual address: Minsk, Pobediteley Ave., 111.
SS “Skating Stadium” MKSK Minsk Arena”
Tel.: +375 (17) 279-04-95, tel/fax 279-04-97
Director – Novakovich Alexander Nikolaevich (tel. 209-07-34)