# Speed skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics

Speed skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics, was held from 5 to 14 February. Nine events were contested at Eisschnelllaufbahn Innsbruck. This was the first Olympics which included the men's 1000 metres, and the first change to the men's program at the Olympics since the elimination of the all-round event in 1928.

## Medal summary
### Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Soviet Union (URS) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | United States (USA) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Norway (NOR) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Netherlands (NED) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 5 | Canada (CAN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | East Germany (GDR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals (6 entries) | Totals (6 entries) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
The Soviet Union led the medal table, with four gold and nine overall. The silver medal for East Germany's Andrea Ehrig-Mitscherlich was the country's first in speed skating.
Tatyana Averina led the individual medal table, winning a medal in all four women's events, two gold and two bronze. Sheila Young won three medals one of each value on the three shortest distances for women. The most successful male skaters were Norway's Sten Stensen and the Netherlands' Piet Kleine, who both won one gold and one silver medal, splitting the long distance events. The Dutch speed skater Hans van Helden won the bronze-medals on all the three longest distances for men. The Russian speed skater Valery Muratov also got a multiple set of medals with a silver medal in the 500 metres event and the bronze medal in the 1000 metres event.

### Men's events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 500 metres details | Yevgeny Kulikov Soviet Union | 39.17 (OR) | Valery Muratov Soviet Union | 39.25 | Dan Immerfall United States | 39.54 |
| 1000 metres details | Peter Mueller United States | 1:19.32 (OR) | Jørn Didriksen Norway | 1:20.45 | Valery Muratov Soviet Union | 1:20.57 |
| 1500 metres details | Jan Egil Storholt Norway | 1:59.38 (OR) | Yury Kondakov Soviet Union | 1:59.97 | Hans van Helden Netherlands | 2:00.87 |
| 5000 metres details | Sten Stensen Norway | 7:24.48 | Piet Kleine Netherlands | 7:26.47 | Hans van Helden Netherlands | 7:26.54 |
| 10,000 metres details | Piet Kleine Netherlands | 14:50.59 (OR) | Sten Stensen Norway | 14:53.30 | Hans van Helden Netherlands | 15:02.02 |

### Women's events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 500 metres details | Sheila Young United States | 42.76 (OR) | Cathy Priestner Canada | 43.12 | Tatyana Averina Soviet Union | 43.17 |
| 1000 metres details | Tatyana Averina Soviet Union | 1:28.43 (OR) | Leah Poulos United States | 1:28.57 | Sheila Young United States | 1:29.14 |
| 1500 metres details | Galina Stepanskaya Soviet Union | 2:16.58 (OR) | Sheila Young United States | 2:17.06 | Tatyana Averina Soviet Union | 2:17.96 |
| 3000 metres details | Tatyana Averina Soviet Union | 4:45.19 (OR) | Andrea Mitscherlich East Germany | 4:45.23 | Lisbeth Korsmo Norway | 4:45.24 |

## Records

Eight out of the nine events, including the debuting men's 1000 metres, had new Olympic records set, with only the men's 5000 metres record remaining unbroken.
| Event | Date | Team | Time | OR |
| Men's 500 metres | 10 February | Yevgeny Kulikov (URS) | 39.17 | OR |
| Men's 1000 metres | 12 February | Peter Mueller (USA) | 1:19.32 | OR |
| Men's 1500 metres | 13 February | Jan Egil Storholt (NOR) | 1:59.38 | OR |
| Men's 10000 metres | 14 February | Piet Kleine (NED) | 14:50.59 | OR |
| Women's 500 metres | 6 February | Sheila Young (USA) | 42.76 | OR |
| Women's 1000 metres | 7 February | Tatyana Averina (URS) | 1:28.43 | OR |
| Women's 1500 metres | 5 February | Galina Stepanskaya (URS) | 2:16.58 | OR |
| Women's 3000 metres | 8 February | Tatyana Averina (URS) | 4:45.19 | OR |

## Participating NOCs

Nineteen nations competed in the speed skating events at Innsbruck.
* Australia (1)
* Austria (4)
* Belgium (2)
* Canada (8)
* Finland (4)
* France (2)
* West Germany (3)
* Great Britain (2)
* East Germany (9)
* Italy (6)
* Japan (9)
* South Korea (2)
* Netherlands (6)
* Norway (9)
* Poland (4)
* Switzerland (1)
* Sweden (9)
* Soviet Union (16)
* United States (14)