The preliminary calendar for the 1916 Summer Olympics, to be held in Berlin, listed a 3-event allround competition,[1] but these Games were cancelled because of World War I.

The 1932 speed skating events were held according to the North American rules, meaning the skaters competed in small packs of skaters (the format paved the way for the development of short track speed skating), instead of the common against-the-clock format.

These Games in Lake Placid, New York, also saw the first female speed skaters at the Olympics in a set of demonstration events, with all victories being achieved by North American athletes.

After the war, they were withdrawn again by the decision of the IOC until the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, when the women skated 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and 3000 m. Following the introduction of World Sprint Championships in the early 1970s, the 1000 m for men was added in Innsbruck 1976, while the women's 5000 m, reinstated by the ISU as an official distance in 1981, made its Olympic debut in 1988.

The latest addition to the Olympic speed skating programme is the team pursuit, which was added for the 2006 Turin Games.