Speed Skating at the 1968 Winter Games: Previous Winter Games ▪ Next Winter Games
Host City: Grenoble, France
Venue(s): Speed Skating Rink, Grenoble
Date Started: February 16, 1968
Date Finished: February 16, 1968
Gold: | Kees Verkerk |
Silver: | Ivar Eriksen Ard Schenk |
This event looked to be a battle between two Dutch skaters, [Ard Schenk] and [Kees Verkerk], who was the 1964 silver medalist, the 1966 and 1967 World All-Around Champion, and the 1967 European Champion. Between them they had won the distance at most of the recent international tournaments, including the 1966 and 1967 World and European Championships. But the 1968 Europeans had been held shortly before the Winter Olympics and that distance was won by Soviet skater [Eduard Matusevich]. Another contender was the world record holder, [Magne Thomassen] of Norway, who had recorded 2:02.5 in Davos only 11 days previously.
Schenk and Matusevich were the first favorites off, together in the second pair, and Schenk posted 2:05.0 for the others to shoot at, while Matusevich trailed in 2:06.1, and would eventually place eighth. Verkerk was in the sixth pair and he was right on pace through 700 metres, and slightly ahead at 1,100. He finished in 2:03.4, which would easily win him the gold medal. Five pairs later, Norwayâs [Ivar Eriksen] came through to tie Schenk in 2:05.0. He was followed by Thomassen, who skated in the 12th pair, and finished in 2:05.1, just outside the medals.
Verkerk had been around since 1963 at an international level and his career would last until 1974, during which he would win the 1966 and 1967 World Championships and the 1967 European Championship. He would finish his career with four Olympic medals, but this would be his only gold. Schenk would soon become the greatest skater in the world, and one of the greatest ever. In 1972 at Sapporo, he would gold medals in all but the 500 metres. During his career he set 18 world records, and won the World Championships consecutively from 1970-72 and the European Championships in 1966 and 1970.
Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | Medal | T | 3c | 7c | 1.1k | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kees Verkerk | 25 | Netherlands | NED | Gold | 2:03.4 | 26 | 58 | 1:30 | OR |
2T | Ivar Eriksen | 25 | Norway | NOR | Silver | 2:05.0 | 26 | 57 | 1:30 | |
2T | Ard Schenk | 23 | Netherlands | NED | Silver | 2:05.0 | 26 | 58 | 1:31 | OR |
4 | Magne Thomassen | 26 | Norway | NOR | 2:05.1 | 26 | 57 | 1:30 | ||
5T | Johnny Höglin | 24 | Sweden | SWE | 2:05.2 | 27 | 59 | 1:31 | ||
5T | Bjørn Tveter | 23 | Norway | NOR | 2:05.2 | 26 | 57 | 1:30 | ||
7 | Svein-Erik Stiansen | 25 | Norway | NOR | 2:05.5 | 26 | 58 | 1:31 | ||
8 | Eduard Matusevich | 30 | Soviet Union | URS | 2:06.1 | 26 | 58 | 1:31 | ||
9 | Peter Nottet | 23 | Netherlands | NED | 2:06.3 | 27 | 58 | 1:32 | ||
10 | Ãrjan Sandler | 27 | Sweden | SWE | 2:07.0 | 27 | 59 | 1:32 | ||
11 | Aleksandr Kerchenko | 21 | Soviet Union | URS | 2:07.1 | 26 | 58 | 1:31 | OR | |
12T | Ants Antson | 29 | Soviet Union | URS | 2:07.2 | 27 | 59 | 1:33 | ||
12T | Valery Kaplan | 24 | Soviet Union | URS | 2:07.2 | 26 | 58 | 1:32 | ||
14 | Jouko Launonen | 28 | Finland | FIN | 2:07.5 | 26 | 59 | 1:32 | ||
15 | Günter Traub | 28 | West Germany | FRG | 2:07.7 | 26 | 58 | 1:32 | ||
16T | Jan Bols | 23 | Netherlands | NED | 2:07.8 | 27 | 59 | 1:33 | ||
16T | Manne Lavås | 23 | Sweden | SWE | 2:07.8 | 26 | 57 | 1:32 | ||
18 | Kimmo Koskinen | 19 | Finland | FIN | 2:07.9 | 26 | 59 | 1:33 | ||
19 | Richie Wurster | 25 | United States | USA | 2:08.4 | 26 | 58 | 1:32 | ||
20 | Göran Claeson | 22 | Sweden | SWE | 2:08.6 | 27 | 59 | 1:33 | ||
21 | Olavi Hjellman | 22 | Finland | FIN | 2:10.1 | 27 | 1:00 | 1:34 | ||
22 | Jürgen Traub | 24 | West Germany | FRG | 2:10.2 | 27 | 1:00 | 1:34 | ||
23 | Wayne LeBombard | 23 | United States | USA | 2:11.2 | 27 | 1:00 | 1:35 | ||
24T | Raimo Hietala | 21 | Finland | FIN | 2:11.7 | 28 | 1:01 | 1:36 | ||
24T | Bill Lanigan | 20 | United States | USA | 2:11.7 | 27 | 1:00 | 1:35 | ||
26 | Bob Hodges | 24 | Canada | CAN | 2:12.0 | 27 | 1:00 | 1:35 | ||
27 | György Martos | 24 | Hungary | HUN | 2:12.2 | 26 | 1:00 | 1:35 | ||
28 | John Tipper | 23 | Great Britain | GBR | 2:12.4 | 27 | 1:00 | 1:35 | ||
29 | György Ivánkai | 30 | Hungary | HUN | 2:12.6 | 28 | 1:02 | 1:37 | ||
30 | Tadao Ishihata | 26 | Japan | JPN | 2:12.7 | 27 | 1:02 | 1:36 | ||
31 | Keiichi Suzuki | 25 | Japan | JPN | 2:13.1 | 27 | 1:00 | 1:35 | ||
32 | Giancarlo Gloder | 22 | Italy | ITA | 2:13.2 | 28 | 1:02 | 1:36 | ||
33 | Elio Locatelli | 24 | Italy | ITA | 2:13.3 | 26 | 1:00 | 1:36 | ||
34T | Roger Capan | 22 | United States | USA | 2:13.6 | 26 | 59 | 1:35 | ||
34T | Renato De Riva | 30 | Italy | ITA | 2:13.6 | 27 | 1:00 | 1:36 | ||
36 | Michel Thépénier | 23 | France | FRA | 2:13.7 | 27 | 1:02 | 1:38 | ||
37 | François Perrenoud | 18 | France | FRA | 2:14.0 | 28 | 1:02 | 1:37 | ||
38 | Guido Gillarduzzi | 28 | Italy | ITA | 2:14.1 | 28 | 1:01 | 1:37 | ||
39 | Otmar Braunecker | 24 | Austria | AUT | 2:14.4 | 27 | 1:01 | 1:37 | ||
40T | Mutsuhiko Maeda | 20 | Japan | JPN | 2:14.8 | 28 | 1:02 | 1:38 | ||
40T | Hermann Strutz | 29 | Austria | AUT | 2:14.8 | 28 | 1:02 | 1:37 | ||
40T | Masaki Suzuki | 23 | Japan | JPN | 2:14.8 | 26 | 59 | 1:35 | ||
43 | Geoff Stockdale | 23 | Great Britain | GBR | 2:15.6 | 27 | 1:01 | 1:38 | ||
44 | Erich Korbel | 26 | Austria | AUT | 2:15.7 | 27 | 1:03 | 1:38 | ||
45 | Mihály Martos | 23 | Hungary | HUN | 2:15.8 | 28 | 1:02 | 1:38 | ||
46 | Pete Williamson | 21 | Canada | CAN | 2:16.0 | 27 | 1:01 | 1:38 | ||
47 | Hansruedi Widmer | 23 | Switzerland | SUI | 2:16.1 | 27 | 1:02 | 1:39 | ||
48 | Franz Krienbühl | 38 | Switzerland | SUI | 2:16.3 | 28 | 1:02 | 1:38 | ||
49T | Colin Coates | 21 | Australia | AUS | 2:16.7 | 28 | 1:01 | 1:38 | ||
49T | Luvsanlkhagvyn Dashnyam | 27 | Mongolia | MGL | 2:16.7 | 27 | 1:01 | 1:37 | ||
51 | Lee Ik-Hwan | 22 | South Korea | KOR | 2:17.5 | 28 | 1:03 | 1:39 | ||
52 | Büjiin Jalbaa | 24 | Mongolia | MGL | 2:18.0 | 28 | 1:03 | 1:39 | ||
53 | Dave Bodington | 20 | Great Britain | GBR | 2:19.1 | 27 | 1:02 | 1:40 |