ISU Speed Skating World Cup
The ISU Speed Skating World Cup is a series of international speed skating competitions, organised annually by the International Skating Union since the winter of 1985–86. Every year during the winter season, a number of competitions on different distances and on different locations are held. Skaters can earn points at each competition, and the skater who has the most points on a given distance at the end of the series is the winner. Initially not very popular with skaters nor spectators, the World Cup has gradually become more and more popular, and this was due to the creation of the World Single Distance Championships. The results of the separate distances in the World Cup ranking are the main qualifying method for the World Single Distance Championships.
The number of races per season per distance varies, but it is usually between five and ten. Ten World Cup titles are awarded every season, five for men (the 500 m, the 1000 m, the 1500 m, the combined 5000 m / 10000 m, and the team pursuit), and five for women (the 500 m, the 1000 m, the 1500 m, the combined 3000 m / 5000 m, and the team pursuit).
The team pursuit was added to the World Cup in the 2005–06 season. Between the seasons 2003–04 and 2008–09, the 100 m was also contested for men and women, but this category is now defunct.
The mass start was re-introduced for both women and men in the World Cup in Astana in 2011.
Overall World Cup winners
Men
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Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[1]
- Medals:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Netherlands (NED) | 346 | 326 | 314 | 986 |
| 2 |  United States (USA) | 162 | 147 | 127 | 436 |
| 3 |  Japan (JPN) | 139 | 145 | 143 | 427 |
| 4 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada (CAN) | 111 | 108 | 107 | 326 |
| 5 |  Norway (NOR) | 94 | 93 | 86 | 273 |
| 6 |  Russia (RUS) | 85 | 74 | 72 | 231 |
| 7 |  South Korea (KOR) | 50 | 84 | 88 | 222 |
| 8 |  East Germany (GDR) | 47 | 15 | 23 | 85 |
| 9 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 23 | 21 | 28 | 72 |
| 10 |  Germany (GER) | 22 | 21 | 40 | 83 |
| Totals (10 nations) | 1079 | 1034 | 1028 | 3141 | |
Women
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[2]
- Medals:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany (GER) | 307 | 244 | 187 | 738 |
| 2 | United States (USA) | 166 | 126 | 105 | 397 |
| 3 | Netherlands (NED) | 123 | 208 | 231 | 562 |
| 4 | Canada (CAN) | 111 | 106 | 104 | 321 |
| 5 |  China (CHN) | 76 | 72 | 62 | 210 |
| 6 | East Germany (GDR) | 74 | 63 | 42 | 179 |
| 7 | Japan (JPN) | 73 | 100 | 132 | 305 |
| 8 |  Czech Republic (CZE) | 54 | 22 | 18 | 94 |
| 9 | South Korea (KOR) | 48 | 38 | 38 | 124 |
| 10 | Russia (RUS) | 30 | 52 | 73 | 155 |
| Totals (10 nations) | 1062 | 1031 | 992 | 3085 | |
Most World Cup victories
The skaters with the highest number of individual World Cup victories as of 9 February 2020. Active skaters in bold.
Men
| Pos | Athlete | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 5000 m | 10000 m | Mass start | Total wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremy Wotherspoon | 49 | 18 | 67 | |||||
| 2 | Shani Davis | 40 | 18 | 58 | |||||
| 3 | Uwe-Jens Mey | 36 | 12 | 48 | |||||
| 4 | Dan Jansen | 32 | 14 | 46 | |||||
| 5 | Sven Kramer | 3 | 34 | 5 | 42 | ||||
| 6 | Pavel Kulizhnikov | 24 | 12 | 36 | |||||
| 7 | Hiroyasu Shimizu | 1 | 34 | 35 | |||||
| 8 |   Igor Zhelezovsky | 4 | 24 | 2 | 30 | ||||
| Ådne Søndrål | 1 | 11 | 18 | 30 | |||||
| 10 | Rintje Ritsma | 11 | 17 | 1 | 29 |
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[3]
Women
| Pos | Athlete | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 3000 m | 5000 m | Mass start | Total wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gunda Niemann | 2 | 39 | 42 | 15 | 98 | |||
| 2 | Bonnie Blair | 39 | 27 | 3 | 69 | ||||
| 3 | Jenny Wolf | 12 | 49 | 61 | |||||
| 4 | Anni Friesinger | 19 | 26 | 10 | 1 | 56 | |||
| 5 | Martina Sáblíková | 1 | 35 | 13 | 2 | 51 | |||
| 6 | Lee Sang-hwa | 1 | 36 | 37 | |||||
| 7 | Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt | 17 | 19 | 36 | |||||
| Ireen Wüst | 4 | 26 | 6 | 36 | |||||
| 9 | Catriona Le May Doan | 1 | 27 | 6 | 34 | ||||
| Heather Richardson Bergsma | 6 | 21 | 7 | 34 |
Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com[4]
All-time medal count
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands (NED) | 469 | 534 | 545 | 1548 |
| 2 | Germany (GER) | 329 | 265 | 227 | 821 |
| 3 | United States (USA) | 328 | 273 | 232 | 833 |
| 4 | Canada (CAN) | 222 | 214 | 211 | 647 |
| 5 | East Germany (GDR) | 121 | 78 | 65 | 264 |
| Japan (JPN) | 121 | 78 | 65 | 264 | |
| 7 | Russia (RUS) | 115 | 126 | 145 | 386 |
| 8 | South Korea (KOR) | 98 | 122 | 126 | 346 |
| 9 | Norway (NOR) | 97 | 101 | 103 | 301 |
| 10 | China (CHN) | 87 | 91 | 72 | 250 |
| Totals (10 nations) | 1987 | 1882 | 1791 | 5660 | |
See also
References
- "History of World Cup classifications Men". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- "History of World Cup classifications Women". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- "Most World Cup victories individual distances Men". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- "Most World Cup victories individual distances Women". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
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