The Speed Skating World Cup continues December 12-14 at the Vikingskipet in Hamar, Norway, marking the last of four events in which athletes can secure Olympic quota spots for their countries.

A fifth and final leg of the tour will take place in Inzell, Germany, January 23-25, but the event will not count toward Olympic qualification.

The Dutch dominated World Cup No. 3, taking seven of the 12 gold medals (and almost half of the 36 total prizes) awarded at their home rink in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

For the second-straight competition, the Dutch women swept the 500m podium. Femke Kok, who broke the world record at the season opener in Salt Lake City, remained undefeated in the distance, while Jutta Leerdam and Marrit Fledderus took silver and bronze, respectively. The three now own the top-three spots in the distance’s World Cup rankings. 

Kok and Fledderus only will compete in the first of two 500m races in Hamar, as well as the 1000m. Leerdam will not compete in any distance.

Joy Beune, who went undefeated in the 1500m and 3000m through the first three World Cups, also will not compete in Hamar. Both skaters have elected to skip the event in order to focus on the Dutch Olympic Trials, which will take place in late December.

After missing the first three World Cup stops, Suzanne Schulting will rejoin the robust Dutch 500m contingent in Hamar. Originally a short track skater who added speed skating to her professional catalog last season, Schulting finished 4th in the distance on the 2024-25 circuit. In Hamar, she will compete in both 500m races.

To round out the weekend, the Dutch will compete in the mixed relay, an event in which they set the world record at the second World Cup stop.

The United States has collected 23 medals through the first three World Cups — second only to the Netherlands' 43. Jordan Stolz singlehandedly accounts nearly for half of them.

Stolz skated to three of the five gold medals the Netherlands didn't secure in Heerenveen, reaffirming his position as the perennial powerhouse's biggest challenger in the men’s competition. Stolz swept his three signature events — the 500m, 1000m, and 1500m — and snapped a track record in each, two of which previously were owned by Dutch rival Jenning de Boo. De Boo finished 2nd behind Stolz in the 500m in Heerenveen. Kjeld Nuis, whose mark Stolz eclipsed in the 1500m, also finished 2nd behind Stolz, but in the 1500m. 

Stolz also competed in the mass start in Heerenveen, finishing in 23rd place after a falling skater bumped into him and sent him into the boards. Including his mass start bronze from World Cup No. 2, he has skated to a medal in 11 of his 14 races this season.

After a brief hiatus in Heerenveen, where skaters contested the team sprint event in place of the team pursuit, the American trio of Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Ethan Cepuran will return to the ice in Hamar. There, the very venue in which they won the country's first world title since 2011 in March, the three will look to extend their unbeaten streak in the team pursuit to six.

Currently ranked 4th in the women’s 500m is American and reigning Olympic champion Erin Jackson, who dropped from 2nd place after she scratched both her 500m and 1000m races in Heerenveen due to a hamstring injury. Through the first two World Cup stops, she earned two silver medals and one bronze, all in her signature 500m. 

In the women's mass start, Mia Manganello aims for a fourth-straight podium finish after she skated to a medal of every color through the first three World Cups. Her first, a gold at the season opener in Salt Lake City, marked her first-ever individual prize on the circuit after nearly 10 years with the U.S. national team.

American skaters may earn an Olympic berth in two ways at World Cup competitions:

• Earn a medal at the 2025 ISU World Single Distances Championships AND place in the top five at any two of the first four World Cups in the same distance
• Finish in the top three at any two of the first four World Cups in the same distance

According to those parameters, Stolz (500m, 1000m, 1500m), Jackson (500m) and Manganello (mass start) have prequalified for the 2026 Games. Should Stolz earn his mass start second podium of the season in Hamar, he would prequalify in a fourth distance. Dawson (5000m) and Brittany Bowe (1500m) also need one more podium finish each. However, all skaters who prequalify also must compete in the same distance at Olympic Trials January 2-6, 2026, in order to remain eligible for the Olympic roster.

The three-day competition begins Friday, December 12 at 12:30 p.m. ET and concludes Sunday, December 14.

All events are available to watch on mobile, tablet and connected TV devices via Peacock.