World and Olympic record:
Claudia Pechstein, Salt Lake City, Feb. 23, 2002
19,79 - 51,50 - 1.23,89 - 1.55,95 - 2.28,33 - 3.00,47 - 3.32,87 - 4.05,35 - 4.37,67 - 5.10,01 - 5.42,49 - 6.14,86 - 6.46,91

Lowland record:
Gunda Kleemann-Niemann-Stirnemann, Heerenveen, Nov. 25, 2001
20,78 - 52,62 - 1.25,46 - 1.58,14 - 2.31,06 - 3.03,98 - 3.36,88 - 4.09,65 - 4.42,71 - 5.15,62 - 5.48,74 - 6.21,89 - 6.55,34

Season best:
Clara Hughes, Heerenveen, Dec. 3, 2005
20,99 - 53,45 - 1.25,82 - 1.58,66 - 2.31,60 - 3.04,31 - 3.37,24 - 4.10,33 - 4.43,47 - 5.16,81 - 5.50,18 - 6.23,47 - 6.56,45

Best nation:
Germany has four golds, by Gunda Niemann 1992 (7.31,57) and Claudia Pechstein 1994 (7.14,37), 1998 (6.59,61) and 2002 (6.46,91). The Netherlands have one.

Best individual skater:
Claudia Pechstein with her three golds, the majority of the ones awarded so far. And she's still around to fight for her fourth.

Biggest win:
Also Gunda Niemann, 6.02 seconds ahead of Heike Warnicke in
Albetville 1992.

Narrowest win:
In Nagano 1998, Gunda was first in the world to skate below 7 minutes in the 7th pair with her 6.59,65. But her laps were slowing after 3000 m, and in the next and last pair, Pechstein followed her laptimes tentatively and found the strength to set in an attack at 3000, dipping below at 3400 and building a lead of 17, then 68, then 79 hundreds. But she was tiring and her laptimes rising. At 4600, her lead had diminished to 70 hundreds, and struggling with a last lap above 34, she only just made it, finishing in 6.59,61, 4/100 ahead of Gunda.

Most surprising win:
The most surprining win perhaps was the one of Pechstein in 1994. The super favourite to three golds, Gunda Niemann, had won nothing when she started the last distance in the 6th pair. But after all this was her best distance, and another accident like in the 3000 m was not likely. Pechstein was then in the lead with her time 7.14,37, close behind the OR. Claudia had opened fast and slowed near the end, but Gunda started even faster, passing the 2200 m 4.04 seconds ahead. But then her lead diminished: 3.65 - 2.93 - 1.99 - 1.11 - 0.44, at the bell she was 11/100 behind, and the finish line, she crossed at 7.14,88, the 6 year old Olympic record of van Gennip, only beaten as world record earlier that season, surviving surprisingly 4 more years.

Start List:

Pair	Lane	Name	NOC
1	I	TABATA Maki	JPN
	O	WOJCICKA Katarzyna	POL
2	I	OPITZ Lucille	GER
	O	ROKITA Anna Natalia	AUT
3	I	WANG Fei	CHN
	O	ISHINO Eriko	JPN
4	I	GROENEWOLD Renate	NED
	O	GROVES Kristina	CAN
Ice Preparation
5	I	RANEY Catherine	USA
	O	HAUGLI Maren	NOR
6	I	KLEIBEUKER Carien	NED
	O	ANSCHUETZ THOMS Daniela	GER
7	I	SABLIKOVA Martina	CZE
	O	KLASSEN Cindy	CAN
8	I	PECHSTEIN Claudia	GER
	O	HUGHES Clara	CAN

Photo: Claudia Pechstein essent world cup 2002
Credit: Peter Reath, viewcalgary.com
Source: Lars Finsen, Yahoo speed skating groups and Torino 2006