[1] Nils van der Poel of Sweden won the event, a few days after winning the 5000 m distance, and set a new world record.

Van der Poel was also the world record holder at the start of the Olympics.

He was leading the 2021–22 ISU Speed Skating World Cup at long distances with four races completed before the Olympics, followed by Bloemen and Davide Ghiotto.

A total of 12 entry quotas were available for the event, with a maximum of two athletes per NOC.

[4] Prior to this competition, the existing world, Olympic and track records were as follows.