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The men's & women's mass start speed skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The sport’s most decorated male speed skater, Sven Kramer will bring the curtain down on his Olympic career. He rarely competes in the discipline and there appears little prospect of him adding to his total of nine medals. Instead, leading contenders include reigning mass start world champion Joey Mantia, of the USA, and Belgium’s Bart Swings, who claimed silver in this race in PyeongChang. However, racing is usually tight, tactical and more unpredictable than in standard speed skating.

Claudia Pechstein will make her second appearance of these Games. The 49-year-old became the oldest woman to compete at the Winter Olympics, finishing last in the 3000m. The eight-time Olympian turns 50 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Dutchwoman Irene Schouten will be looking to complete a hugely successful Games – she has won gold in the 3000m and 500m plus team pursuit bronze, adding to the bronze she earned in mass start in 2018. Ivanie Blondin, part of the Canadian team who won team pursuit gold on Tuesday, is a likely rival, along with Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida.