Mass start
We have mentioned before that many of the best inline skaters liked to participate in long track speed skating because in this way they could participate in the Olympic games. However, this requires that one realizes times on the different distances such that one can compete with the times of the professional long track speed skaters. To reach this level is not so simple because the skating technique of the two sports is rather different.
Long track skaters can push long because their skates keep grip on the ice. After the push they can smoothly glide on the flat ice till the next push with the other leg..This is illustrated by the video below.
Long track skaters can push long because their skates keep grip on the ice. After the push they can smoothly glide on the flat ice till the next push with the other leg..This is illustrated by the video below.
Inline skaters experience much more resistance due to the contact of the wheels with the rough floor. They can´t push so long because then their wheels would lose the grip on the ground. Therefore, they have developed a different style of skating called “double push”. With each leg they push twice where long track skaters push only once. The difference was very clear when one of the famous inline skaters Chad Hedrick with his double push technique became world champion long track speed skating. In the video below Joey Mantia shows the technique in slow motion. The video shows very clear how different inline skating technique is from the long track speed skating technique
Many Dutch skaters such as Mark Tuitert, Koen Verwey, the brother Mulder, the family Schouten grew up with speed skating in the winter and inline skating in the summer. They grew up with both ways of skating and did not have so much problems moving from the one to the other.. If one tries to move at a later age from inline skating to speed skating it seems to be more difficult to develop on ice the speed which long track skaters are able to realize.
Nevertheless, many inline skaters have tried to make this move to long track speed skating in order to be able to participate in the Olympic games. For example, Kasie Boutiette, Derek Para, Jenerfer Rodriquez, Chad Hedrick, Brittany Bowe, Heather Richardson, Peter Michael, Erin Jackson, Joey Mantia and Bart Swings. Most of them with exception of Chad Hedrik and recently Bart Swings only had occasionally success on the different long track distances.
However, their time came with the introduction of the mass start in long track speed skating. They were accustomed to mass starts. Skating in a group requires a lot of quick reactions, ideas about the best tactic and a good eye for the moment to attack. One of the best illustrations of this qualities showed Bart Swings during the world championships inline skating 2023 during the final 1.000 meters races. It seems he had lost but at the right moment he is there to win the race.
Nevertheless, many inline skaters have tried to make this move to long track speed skating in order to be able to participate in the Olympic games. For example, Kasie Boutiette, Derek Para, Jenerfer Rodriquez, Chad Hedrick, Brittany Bowe, Heather Richardson, Peter Michael, Erin Jackson, Joey Mantia and Bart Swings. Most of them with exception of Chad Hedrik and recently Bart Swings only had occasionally success on the different long track distances.
However, their time came with the introduction of the mass start in long track speed skating. They were accustomed to mass starts. Skating in a group requires a lot of quick reactions, ideas about the best tactic and a good eye for the moment to attack. One of the best illustrations of this qualities showed Bart Swings during the world championships inline skating 2023 during the final 1.000 meters races. It seems he had lost but at the right moment he is there to win the race.
It is hard to imagine that an excellent long track skater like Sven Kramer could race in this way. Therefore, the winners in Mass starts on ice are mostly inline or shot track speed skaters who all are familiar with skating in a pack.
Mass start in the World championships and the Olympic games
In 2015 de mass start is recognized as one of the races in the world championships. It was decided that a race will take 16 rounds on long track speed skating circuit. The recognition of the mass start in the Olympic winter games followed in 2018. During the race one can obtain points by winning sprints but the skater who finishes first will always have more points. In the table below we show the names of the winners of the mass starts during the world championships and olympic games that have been held so far (2023)..
Except for Lee Sengh Hoon all male winners were originally inline skaters. Leen Sengh Hoon was first a short track speed skater. The short track skaters are skating most races in the form of a mass start, Therefore it is not surprising that a short track skater could also win a mass start race. More remarkable is that the typical long track speed skaters don´t appear in this list.
The two Dutch women who won the mass start grew up with inline and speed skating. Ivani Blondin and Kim Bo Reum started with short track skating. That means that Nana Takagi is the only winner in this discipline who was specialized in long track speed skating from the start and won also several medals on different distances in 2022
This result clearly shows that it made a lot of sense to introduce the mass start race in the long track speed skating championships: it gives another type of speedskaters a chance to win medals in speed skating.
The two Dutch women who won the mass start grew up with inline and speed skating. Ivani Blondin and Kim Bo Reum started with short track skating. That means that Nana Takagi is the only winner in this discipline who was specialized in long track speed skating from the start and won also several medals on different distances in 2022
This result clearly shows that it made a lot of sense to introduce the mass start race in the long track speed skating championships: it gives another type of speedskaters a chance to win medals in speed skating.