Lake Placid prepares for the Lake Placid 2022 FISU World University Championship Speed Skating

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- For the first time in 30 years, international speed skating racing returns to Lake Placid’s Olympic speed skating oval. March 2-5, 2022, the best speed skaters from universities around the globe willcompete for 13 titles in the Lake Placid 2022 FISU World University Championship Speed Skating, presented by the Uihlein Foundation.

“In preparation for the 2023 FISU Games, and in partnership with the International University Sports Federation (FISU), we’re excited to be holding racing on the modernized track,” said Adirondack Sports Council Executive Director Ashley Walden. “This is the first opportunity for our teams to collaborate on an international single-sport event.”

Competition starts March 2 for the group of more than 70 athletes from 15 nations with the women’s 1,000 and 3,000-meter events and the men’s 1,000 and 5,000-meter races. The women and men’s 1,500m is slated for March 3, while the 500m races, for both men and women, and team pursuits are scheduled for March 4 on the historic track, nestled in the heart of the village’s downtown.

The competition on the 400-meter outdoor track winds down on March 5 with the mixed team sprint and mass start events.

Matt Kooreman, U.S. Long Track Program Director, added, “U.S. Speedskating is incredibly excited about the opportunity for our rising stars to be able to compete in a prestigious event like the FISU World University Championships.  It can be difficult to gain international racing experience in the U.S. so the fact that the world’s best our coming to compete on our home soil, and in a legendary location like Lake Placid, will really get our athletes pumped up about representing Team USA!”

This race comes just one year since the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) began an extensive transformation of the oval. This included modernization to its refrigeration and lighting systems and a newly constructed support building which will be used for timing and scoring. The new building will also store the facility’s Zamboni, first-aid offices and restrooms. The oval is expected to open to athletes and the public tomorrow, Thursday, December 23.

Many of the athletes competing in this event will return to Lake Placid to be a part of the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games. The FISU Games, January 12-22, 2023, is expected to bring as many as 2,500 athletes and delegates from 50 nations and 600 universities to compete in speed skating and 11 other winter sports throughout the North Country region.

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