The men's Olympic 1500m speedskating final takes place on Thursday and it promises to be another enthralling battle for the gold, silver and bronze medals at Milano Cortina 2026.
We take a look at the history of men's 1500m speedskating, how it works, and who will be aiming for gold in Thursday's final.
Schedule
The men's Olympic 1500m speedskating final will take place on Thursday February 19, with the action starting at 10:30 ET.
Venue
All speedskating events at Milano Cortina 2026 will be held at Milano Speed Skating Stadium in Milan, Italy.
History of men's 1500m speedskating
Men's 1500m speedskating has been part of the Winter Olympics since the inaugural edition back in 1924, when Finland's Clas Thunberg claimed the gold medal.
Norway are the most successful nation in 1500m speedskating, taking home the top prize eight times and collecting a leading 23 medals in total (seven silver, eight bronze).
Charles Mathiesen (1936), Sverre Farstad (1948), Hjalmar Andersen (1952), Roald Aas (1960), Jan Egil Storholt (1976), Johann Olav Koss (1992 & 1994) and Adne Sondral (1998) have all won gold.
The Netherlands' Kjeld Nuis has been the dominant force over the last two Winter Olympics, winning gold in 2018 before repeating the feat four years later when setting an Olympic record time of 1:43.21.
Nuis is also the world record holder, setting a time of 1:40.17 at Salt Lake City in 2019.
The United States have won three golds in 1500m speedskating, the first coming in 1932 when Jack Shea claimed the spoils.
Eric Heiden won gold in 1980 and Derek Parra took home the top prize in 2002.
How it works
Competitors race around a 400-metre long track and are against the clock. Each individual gets one round to try and obtain the quickest time.
Each run is done in pairs and the competitors switch lanes every lap to ensure equal distances are covered.
Team USA Medal prospects
USA will be hoping for 1500m gold with Jordan Stolz the firm -2000 favorite to win the event.
Stolz has already won gold in the 1000 metres, setting an Olympic record time of 1:06.28,and in the 500 metres, again setting an OR with a time of 33.77 seconds.
The 21-year-old, who is competing in his second Winter Games, set a personal best 1500m time of 1:40.48 at Salt Lake City in November last year, just shy of Nuis' world record of 1:40.17.
Speaking of Nuis, the Dutchman is second in the betting at +1000, as he aims to become the first person to win 1500 gold three times in a row.
Cooper Mcleod and Zach Stoppelmoor will also represent the US, although they are not expected to challenge for the medals.
Read more betting picks and predictions for the Olympics on site.
Men's 1500m Speedskating Final Odds
Jordan Stolz | -2000 |
Kjeld Nuis | +1000 |
Zhongyan Ning | +1200 |
Joep Wennemars | +3300 |
Finn Sonnekalb | +4000 |
Peder Kongshaug | +5000 |
Sander Eitrem | +5000 |
Tijmen Snel | +8000 |
Daniele Di Stefano | +10000 |
Gabriel Odor | +10000 |
Read the latest Olympics news on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time
