title: Speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics
text: # Speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics
  
  At the 1956 Winter Olympics, four speed skating events were contested. This was the last edition in which only men participated. The competitions were held from Saturday, 28 January, to Tuesday, 31 January 1956.
  
  ## Medal summary
  
  | Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 500 metres details | Yevgeny Grishin Soviet Union | 40.2 WR | Rafayel Grach Soviet Union | 40.8 | Alv Gjestvang Norway | 41.0 |
  | 1500 metres details | Yevgeny Grishin Soviet UnionYuri Mikhaylov Soviet Union | 2:08.6 WR | | | Toivo Salonen Finland | 2:09.4 |
  | 5000 metres details | Boris Shilkov Soviet Union | 7:48.7 (OR) | Sigvard Ericsson Sweden | 7:56.7 | Oleg Goncharenko Soviet Union | 7:57.5 |
  | 10,000 metres details | Sigvard Ericsson Sweden | 16:35.9 (OR) | Knut Johannesen Norway | 16:36.9 | Oleg Goncharenko Soviet Union | 16:42.3 |
  
  ## Participating nations
  
  A total of 18 nations competed in the 4 events. Ten speed skaters competed in all four events.
  
  * Australia (1)
  * Austria (4)
  * Belgium (1)
  * Canada (3)
  * Czechoslovakia (3)
  * Finland (6)
  * France (1)
  * United Team of Germany (2)
  * Great Britain (3)
  * Italy (5)
  * Japan (5)
  * South Korea (4)
  * Netherlands (6)
  * Norway (11)
  * Soviet Union (11)
  * Sweden (7)
  * Switzerland (2)
  * United States (8)
  
  ## Medal table
  
  | Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Soviet Union | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
  | 2 | Sweden | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
  | 3 | Norway | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
  | 4 | Finland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
  | Totals (4 entries) | Totals (4 entries) | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
  