1. ERIC'S GOLDEN HIGHLIGHTS: At the 1980 Lake Placid Games, Eric Heiden, of the United States, became the first Olympian to earn five gold medals in individual events in same Olympics (three of Mark Spitz's seven swimming golds at the 1972 Munich Summer Games were in relay events). Heiden not only won the men's 500, 1,000, 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters — he set Olympic records in each event and added a world mark in the 10,000.
Shunning the limelight and endorsement opportunities, Heiden soon retired from racing, eventually becoming a Dutch team doctor. His sister, Beth Heiden, kept it all in the family by winning her own bronze in the 3,000 meters at the same 1988 Lake Placid games.
2. BLAIR'S FLAIR: American speedskater Bonnie Blair became the first U.S. woman in winter competition to win six medals and the first female in the nation in either the Summer or Winters Olympics to tally five golds. Three of her golds came in one event — the 500 meters — at the 1988 Calgary Games, the 1992 Albertville Games and the 1994 Lillehammer Games, which tied an Olympic mark for most consecutive victories in the same event. She followed a bronze in the 1,000 in '88 with golds in the same event in the two subsequent Olympics. And she finished fourth twice in the 1,500, including just .03 seconds from a bronze in 1988.
3. DAN'S THE MAN — FINALLY: The decade-long career of American speedskater Dan Jansen seemed to one of two extremes — illustrious and infamous. In international competition, he had collected two world championships, seven World Cup titles and as many world records; but in Olympic competition, he had never medaled in seven races. In fact, his futility was well-known — he had been hindered at the 1988 Calgary Games by the last-minute news that his younger sister had died of leukemia, and in other races he fell victim to a stumble here or a wrong strategy there. In his final Olympic attempt — the 1,000 at the 1994 Lillehammer Games — Jansen broke out in record pace in an event that certainly wasn't his strongest. Cheered on by family and friends and a crowd aware of his storied past, Jansen finished with a world record to finally earn his Olympic medal — a gold, at that.
4. A DUTCH TREAT: After leaving the 1994 Lillehammer Games without a gold medal for the first time in nearly two decades, the Netherlands responded in a big way at the 1998 Nagano Games. The Dutch men captured nine of the 15 possible medals, including three gold and four silver. Gianni Romme set world records in the men's 5,000 and 10,000 meters, while teammate Marianne Timmer had record-setting victories in the women's 1,000 and 1,500 meters. Besides the medal onslaught, the Dutch provided the sport with the unveiling of several equipment innovations — a specially coated and lined ultra-thin suits to help decrease air resistance and the "clap skate," which allows the skater to keep the blade on the ice while lifting up a heel.
5. SOVIET GOLD STANDARD: With her performances in the 1960 Squaw Valley Games and 1964 Innsbruck Games, Lydia Skoblikova of the Soviet Union set two marks. First, with her sweep of the golds in the women's 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 3,000 in 1964, she was the first woman to win to win four gold medals in a single Winter Olympics. By adding in her triumphs in the 1,500 and 3,000 the previous Olympics, she became the first woman to garner six golds altogether.
6. LUCKY SEVEN: Norway's Ivar Ballangrud hauled in seven speedskating records from 1928 to 1936, including four golds. His Olympic wins game in the 5,000 meters in the 1928 St. Moritz Games, and the 500, 5,000 and 10,000 at the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Games.
7. TOP OF THE CLAS: A. Clas Thunberg of Finland dominated speedskating in the early years of the Winter Olympics, finishing with a collection of five gold medals and seven medals overall. At the 1924 Chamonix Games, he earned a bronze in the 500 meters, a silver in the 10,000 and golds 1,500 and 5,000 meters and the four-raced combined competition. Thunberg added two more golds at the 1928 St. Moritz Games, in the 500 and 1,500.
8. EARNING THE MOST ON HER OWN: During the 1980s, East Germany's Karin Enke Kania set an Olympic record for the most Winter Games medals won by an individual — a mark that still stands for the women. Setting Olympic records in each event, she collected three golds — the 500 in 1980 and the 1,000 and 1,500 in 1984. She added four silvers and a bronze and just missed a medal with fourth-place finishes in two additional races during the eight-year span.
9. FOR OPENERS: The first medal awarded in the inaugural Winter Olympics was given to American speedskater Charles Jewtraw, who won the 500 meter event at the 1924 Chamonix Games. Ice hockey and figure skating medals had been awarded prior to 1924, but only because these two events had been included in Summer Olympic competition.
10. SILVER IN THE SHADOWS: Skating in the shadows of teammate Kania, East Germany's Andrea Mitscherlich Schone Ehrig set an Olympic mark for second-place success — five silver medals from 1976 to 1988. She finished her Olympic career with one gold, five silvers, one bronze and two near-misses in fourth place. However, the East German speedskater did set an Olympic standard in having competed under the most family names — her maiden name (Mitscherlich) in 1976 and 1980, her first married name (Schone) in 1984 and her second married name (Ehrig) in 1988. The three-name feat was later matched by German Gunda Niemmann Kleemann Stirremann in the '90s.
