It was held on Sunday, 29 January 1956, started at 11 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m. Forty-six speed skaters from 17 nations competed.

(*) The record was set in a high altitude venue (more than 1000 metres above sea level) and on naturally frozen ice.

At first Helmut Kuhnert who skated in the first pair set a new Olympic record with 8:04.3 minutes.

In the third pair Wim de Graaff bettered the Olympic record with 8:00.2 minutes.

Finally Boris Shilkov set a new Olympic record with 7:48.7 minutes on the way to win the fourth heat and the gold medal.