The women's 1500 metres speed skating

Speed skating

Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...

event was part of the speed skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics

Speed skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics

At the 1960 Winter Olympics, eight speed skating events were contested. For the first time women were allowed to participated in the Olympic speed skating events. The competitions were held from Saturday, February 20 to Tuesday, February 23, 1960 and from Wednesday, February 24 to Saturday,...

 programme. It was the first appearance of women's speed skating events at the Olympics and the 1500 metres were the second contest after the 500 metres. The competition was held on the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink

Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink

The Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink was a temporary venue constructed for the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. Located outdoors near the Blyth Arena, it hosted the speed skating and some of the ice hockey events for those games.-Reference:...

 and for the first time at the Olympics on artificially frozen ice. It was held on Sunday, February 21, 1960.

Twenty-three speed skaters from ten nations competed.

Medalists

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1960 Winter Olympics.

World Record	2:25.5(*)	Khalida Shchegoleeva	Medeo Medeo The Medeu , or Medeo , is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. It is located in a mountain valley on the south-eastern outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above sea level, making it the highest skating rink in the world...  (URS Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... )	January 30, 1953
Olympic Record		-

(*) The record was set in a high altitude venue (more than 1000 metres above sea level) and on naturally frozen ice.

Klara Guseva

Klara Guseva

Klara Ivanovna Guseva is a former speed skater. After her marriage, she was also known as Klara Nesterova .Born in the Russian SFSR, Klara Guseva competed for the Soviet Union. She trained at Spartak in Ryazan. She won a silver medal at the Soviet Allround Championships in 1960 and participated...

 set the first Olympic record with 2:28.7 minutes. Then Elwira Seroczyńska

Elwira Seroczynska

Elwira Seroczyńska was a Polish speed skater.Seroczyńska was born as Elwira Potapowicz in Wilno, Poland . A graduate of the State Administrative and Economic School in Elbląg , she and became Polish Allround Champion for the first time in 1952...

 improved the Olympic record with 2:25.7 minutes. Finally Lidiya Skoblikova set a new world record with 2:25.2 minutes.

Results

Place	Speed skater	Time
1		2:25.2 WR
2		2:25.7
3		2:27.1
4		2:28.7
5		2:29.2
6		2:29.7
7		2:31.5
8		2:31.7
9		2:32.9
10		2:33.3
11		2:33.7
12		2:34.0
13		2:34.5
14		2:35.1
15		2:36.4
16		2:36.5
17		2:36.6
18		2:37.0
19		2:43.7
20		2:48.6
21		2:48.6
22		2:51.1
23		2:55.6

As Robb and Kim skated in the same pair the referees decided that Robb finished ahead to place 20th.