Long-track speedskating can be a bit sedate when it comes to the lengthier races. In those events, athletes cruise around smooth ice rinks, their arms resting behind their backs as they race only against the clock.
The mass start event, which first appeared at the 2018 Olympics, livens things up significantly. In the roughly four-mile race, 20 or more skaters are on the ice at the same time, drafting and jousting for position. Stay in your lane? Not in the mass start.
And at these Games, an American, Joey Mantia, may win in the men’s competition.