What is the length of a standard Olympic speed skating oval?

A standard Olympic long-track speed-skating oval is 400 meters around.

The distance is measured along the competition lane, producing a familiar track with two long straightaways and two semicircular turns. International rules specify an oval with two lanes, each competition lane about 4 meters wide, and inner-curve radii generally between 25 and 26 meters.

The 400-meter design has remained broadly consistent since the International Skating Union was founded in 1892. In Olympic competition, long-track speed skating takes place indoors, where temperature and ice conditions can be controlled more precisely. Skaters race in pairs and switch lanes in the crossover section so that both cover equivalent distances.

A common mix-up is short-track speed skating. Its oval is only 111.111 meters long and is laid out on an ice-hockey-sized rink. Some nonstandard long-track venues can also use alternative dimensions, including 200-meter tracks, but those are not the standard Olympic oval. The 500-meter and 1,000-meter distances are race events, not the length of one lap.