World record progression 500 m speed skating men explained

The world record progression 500 m speed skating men as recognised by the International Skating Union:

Name	Result	Date	Venue	Meeting
	50.8	28 February 1891	Stockholm
	50.2	28 February 1892	Hamar
	49.4	5 February 1893	Hamar
	48.0	26 February 1893	Hamar
	48.0	26 February 1893	Hamar
	47.8	21 January 1894	Kristiania
	47.0	24 February 1894		European Championships
	47.0	24 February 1894		European Championships
	46.8	3 February 1895	Trondhjem
	46.6	7 February 1897	Trondhjem
	45.2	10 February 1900	Davos
	44.8	27 January 1906		European Championships
	44.4	9 February 1908	Davos
	44.4	9 February 1908	Davos
	44.2	17 February 1912		World Allround Championships
	44.0	16 March 1913	Hamar
	43.7	10 January 1914	Kristiania
	43.4	17 January 1914	Davos
	43.1	4 February 1928		World Allround Championships
	42.8	19 January 1929		European Championships
	42.6	13 January 1931	St. Moritz
	42.5	21 January 1933	Davos
	42.4	18 January 1936	Oslo
	42.3	30 January 1937		European Championships
	41.8	5 February 1938		World Allround Championships
	41.7	6 January 1952	Medeo
	41.2	19 January 1952	Medeo
	40.9	25 January 1953	Medeo
	40.8	19 January 1955	Medeo
	40.2	22 January 1956	Misurina
	40.2	28 January 1956		Winter Olympics
	40.2	24 February 1960		Winter Olympics
	39.6	27 January 1963	Medeo
	39.5	28 January 1963	Medeo
	39.2	28 January 1968	Inzell
	39.2	1 March 1969	Inzell
	39.09	9 January 1970	Medeo
	39.03	13 January 1970	Medeo
	38.9	18 January 1970	Davos
	38.99	24 January 1970	Medeo
	38.87	25 January 1970	Medeo
	38.73	29 January 1970	Medeo
	38.71	7 March 1970	Inzell
	38.46	8 March 1970	Inzell
	38.42	14 March 1971	Inzell
	38.3	2 January 1972	Inzell
	38.0	8 January 1972	Davos
	38.0	4 March 1972	Inzell
	38.0	4 March 1972	Inzell
	38.0	13 January 1973	Davos
	37.99	15 March 1975	Medeo
	37.97	16 March 1975	Medeo
	37.85	18 March 1975	Medeo
	37.20	28 March 1975	Medeo
	37.00	29 March 1975	Medeo
	36.91	28 March 1981	Medeo
	36.68	25 March 1983	Medeo
	36.57	26 March 1983	Medeo
	36.55	19 March 1987	Heerenveen
	36.45	14 February 1988		Winter Olympics
	36.43	19 January 1992	Davos
	36.41	25 January 1992	Davos
	36.41	19 March 1993	Calgary
	36.02	20 March 1993	Calgary
	35.92	4 December 1993	Hamar
	35.76	30 January 1994		World Sprint Championships
	35.39	2 March 1996	Calgary
	35.36	28 March 1998	Calgary
	34.82	28 March 1998	Calgary
	34.76	20 February 1999		World Sprint Championships
	34.63	29 January 2000	Calgary
	34.32	10 March 2001		World Single Distance Championships
	34.30	19 November 2005	Salt Lake City
	34.25	9 March 2007		World Single Distance Championships
	34.03	9 November 2007	Salt Lake City
	34.00	15 November 2015		World Cup
	33.98	20 November 2015		World Cup
	33.61	9 March 2019		World Cup Final

The world record of 38.9 seconds was set by Hasse Börjes on 18 January 1970 had been manually timed and thus with a precision of only one tenth of a second. In those days, it was not yet required that a performance be automatically timed (with a precision of one hundredth of a second) in order for it to be recognised as a world record. When Valery Muratov skated 38.99 six days later, it was automatically timed and since  - when disregarding the hundredths of a second  - the result was the same as the time set by Börjes, it was recognised as a world record. Muratov's world record stood for only one day, because Börjes skated 38.87 the following day. Muratov skated a new world record of 38.73 four days after that.

References

• Historical World Records. International Skating Union.
• Web site: Evolution of the world record 500 meters Men. SpeedSkatingStats.com. 29 August 2012.