Editing Speed skating (section)

===ISU development===
[[File:JaapEden.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jaap Eden]], the first official world champion]]

Organized races on ice skates developed in the 19th century. Norwegian clubs hosted competitions from 1863, with races in [[Oslo|Christiania]] drawing five-digit crowds.<ref>{{in lang|no}} ''Olympiske vinterleker 1924–2006'', Åge Dalby, Jan Greve, [[Per Jorsett]], {{ISBN|82-7286-162-3}}, Akilles forlag 2006, p. 29</ref> In 1884, the Norwegian [[Axel Paulsen]] was named Amateur Champion Skater of the World after winning competitions in the [[United States]]. Five years later, a sports club in Amsterdam held an ice-skating event they called a world championship, with participants from [[Russia]], the [[United States]] and the [[United Kingdom]], as well as the host country. The ''Internationale Eislauf Vereinigung'', now known as the [[International Skating Union]], was founded at a meeting of 15 national representatives in [[Scheveningen]] in 1892, the first international winter sports federation. The Nederlandse Schaatsrijderbond was founded in 1882<ref>{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.knsb.nl/content/langebaan/watislangebaan.asp Wat is Langebaanschaatsen] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305133755/http://www.knsb.nl/content/langebaan/watislangebaan.asp |date=5 March 2009 }}, KNSB.nl</ref> and organised the world championships of 1890 and 1891.<ref name=wchallm>{{cite web|title=History of the World Championship Allround Men|url=http://www.speedskatingstats.com/index.php?file=championships&g=m&type=wchall|publisher=SpeedskatingResults.com|access-date=10 September 2012}}</ref> Competitions were held around tracks of varying lengths—the 1885 match between [[Axel Paulsen]] and Remke van der Zee was skated on a track of 6/7 mile (1400 metres)—but the 400 metre track was standardised by the ISU in 1892, along with the standard distances for world championships, 500&nbsp;m, 1500&nbsp;m, 5000&nbsp;m and 10,000&nbsp;m. Skaters started in pairs, each to their own lane, and changed lanes for every lap to ensure that each skater completed the same distance. This is what is now known as long track speed skating. Competitions were exclusively for amateur skaters, which was enforced. Peter Sinnerud was disqualified for professionalism in 1904 and lost his world title.

Long track [[List of world records in speed skating|world records]] were first registered in imperial distances and since 1880 in metrical distances. The latter ones improved rapidly since their adoption as standard distances by the ISU, with [[Jaap Eden]] lowering the world 5000-metre record by half a minute during the Hamar European Championships in 1894. However, the record stood for 17 years, and it took over 50 years to lower it by further half a minute.<ref>{{in lang|no}} ''Skøytesportens stjerner'', Knut Bjørnsen and Per Jorsett, J. W. Cappelens forlag 1971, p. 183</ref><ref name=wr5000>{{cite web|title=Evolution of the world record 5000 meters Men|url=http://www.speedskatingstats.com/index.php?file=records&g=m&event=5000|publisher=SpeedskatingResults.com|access-date=10 September 2012}}</ref>