Speed skating is the sport in which man is able to achieve the fastest speed on a flat surface, without the use of mechanical means. It consists of individual events and team pursuit. Skaters maintain a powerful and aerodynamic crouched position, which allows them to gain speed rapidly in the straight and to boost speed on the turns. In the long distance races, one or both arms can be placed behind the back to increase aerodynamic profile and to conserve energy.
The athletes race in pairs, skating in an anticlockwise direction around the track. They compete for the best time and are timed to a hundredth of a second. Each pair is allowed one false start: the skater who commits the second false start will be disqualified. The skaters switch lanes at the exchange zone once per lap, so that both skate the same distance. Precedence is given to the skater who is changing from the outer lane.

　　Individual events

All individual events take place in a single leg, except for the men and women's 500 m competition which has two legs. In the 500 m event, the final result is based on the overall time of the two races, which are both completed on the same day.
Competitors are matched according to times achieved during the season: skaters are thus divided into groups. A random draw determines the lanes and starting order within each starting group.