Better Know A Winter Olympics Sport: Speed Skating, It Is Fast

What It Is: Speed skating originated the same way that most sports get started: out of necessity. In the winter, when the canals would freeze in Amsterdam, the Dutch quickly discovered as early as the 13th century that the easiest way to get around was by strapping some iron skates to wooden soles. Things became competitive in the late 1600s and then early in the 19th century, the Dutch introduced the rest of Europe to the sport. (And now you know why the speed skaters clad in orange spandex are usually the ones leading the race -- there is a legitimate chance their relatives helped invent the sport.)

It joined the Olympics in 1924, with the women joining the games in 1960 at Squaw Valley. The distances are 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and the grueling 10,000 m (over six miles). In addition to the one-on-one format, there is also the team pursuit competition, which was first introduced in 2006.

Team pursuit was first introduced as an Olympic event at the Torino 2006 Winter Games. In this event, two teams of three athletes begin, simultaneously, on each side of the track. Team members take turns leading, with the remaining athletes following closely behind the leader to take advantage of the air currents. The team completes the race when the final team member crosses the finish line. The competition consists of elimination rounds, leading to a final race.

What To Watch For: In 2010, the 400m oval rink -- the Richmond Olympic Rink -- will be the spot of one of America’s greatest medal hopefuls, Shani Davis, who is heavily favored to win both the 1000m and 1500m, which would make him the country’s first winner of multiple speed skating gold medals in 16 years. He is also competing in the 500m and 5000m events, but decided not to do the 10,000m (he qualified for all five). Davis is a three-time 1500m and two-time 1000m world champion, is the world record-holder at each distance and won gold in the 1000m and silver in the 1500 at the Torino Games.

When To Watch: The competition begins right away, with the Men’s 5000m on Feb. 13, the second day of the Games. Davis will skate the 1000m Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. ET, and the 1500m Feb. 20, at 7:15 p.m. The full speed skating schedule is available at the Vancouver site.

Why To Watch: One word: speed. This is “the fastest human powered, non-mechanical aided sport in the world” -- speed skaters reach speeds over 35 mph. Additionally, speed skating is traditionally America’s best sport, with 68 medals, 28 gold. In 2006, the U-S-A finished with seven medals, three gold. Plus, if you like Stephen Colbert -- Colbert Nation is the official sponsor of USA Speed skating’s team (really) -- he’ll be in Vancouver, broadcasting. Expect shenanigans.