Speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Men's 1500 metres Speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Men's 1500 metres The men's 1500 m speed skating competition for the 2002 Winter Olympics was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. In reverse order of the 5000 metres, Jochem Uytdehaage first broke the world record, only to see it bettered by Derek Parra, who won the third US skating gold of the Games. He was the first Mexican-American to medal in a winter sport. Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows. The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.
Winter Olympic Games war, the 1944 Games, originally scheduled for Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy, were cancelled. St. Moritz was selected to host the first post-war Games in 1948. Switzerland's neutrality had protected the town during World War II, and most of the venues were in place from the 1928 Games, which made St. Moritz a logical choice. It became the first city to host a Winter Olympics twice. Twenty-eight countries competed in Switzerland, but athletes from Germany and Japan were not invited. Controversy erupted when two hockey teams from the United States arrived, both claiming to be the legitimate U.S. Olympic hockey representative. The