The men's 1500m speed skating event has been an Olympic competition since 1924. Three Americans have won gold in the discipline but none since 2002.
American Joey Mantia is a contender to earn the first medal by a U.S. speed skater in the men's 1500m since 2010. He finished fifth at the World Single Distances Championships in 2021 and third in 2020.
The Netherlands has dominated the distance since 2010, though, amassing two Olympic gold medals and a pair of silvers.
Fifteen pairs will skate 3.75 laps around the 400-meter oval at the Ice Ribbon. The athletes will get one attempt to set the fastest time.
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13th pairing: Mantia finished with a 1:45.26. That is fifth thus far, so the American will not break the podium drought.
11th pairing: Kjeld Nuis, the defending Olympic gold medalist, sets the Olympic record at 1:43.21. Krol's reign lasted all but five minutes. The two Dutch skaters are in prime position to stand atop the podium. Nuis was behind Krol's pace through the first 1100m, but he had a strong finish. His last lap was 28.44.
10th pairing: Dutch skater Thomas Krol blows away the rest of the field. The reigning world champion in the 1500m sets the Olympic record at 1:43.55, beating American Derek Parra's mark. This is the 29-year-old's first Olympic games.
Ninth pairing: Lehman starts from the inside and hits 1:45.78. That is the third-fastest time of the day. He finished behind the ROC's Sergey Trofimov, who hit the fastest time through nine pairs at 1:45.32. The two pushed each other in the most exciting race thus far.
American Emery Lehman is set to perform out of the break. He finished second in the 1500m at U.S. Olympic Trials behind Mantia.
After eight pairings, Bosker leads for the Netherlands. There will be a short break to work on the ice. The event format is set for the top seeds to skate last, and there are many contenders in the final 14 athletes.
Seventh pairing: Casey Dawson is the first American to skate. He arrived in Beijing on Monday after clearing COVID-19 protocols. In his Olympic debut, the 21-year-old skated a 1:49.45, which is 13th out of 13 skaters so far. Dawson missed his 5000m individual race last week. He will get back on the ice in the team pursuit for the U.S.
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Bosker remains in the lead after six pairs. He has the only sub-28-second final lap in the event so far.
Fourth pairing: Marcel Bosker, the first Dutch skater to race in this event, takes first at 1:45.42.
Third pairing: Ruslan Zakharov of the ROC grabs the top spot with a time of 1:46.46.
Second pairing: Canada's Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu grabs the top spot with a 1:48.00 race.
First athlete: Peter Michael of New Zealand, the only athlete skating by himself, set the time to beat at 1:48.68.
Mantia will skate in the 13th pairing.
Defending Olympic gold medalist Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands is in the 11th pairing.
