Speed skating-The magic touch: the ice maker behind Beijing's Olympic records

BEIJING : China's Gao Tingyu set the eighth speed skating Olympic record at the Beijing Games on Saturday as he glided past the finish line at the 'Ice Ribbon' under Canadian ice maker Mark Messer's watchful eyes.

The National Speed Skating Oval also saw a world record https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/speed-skating-van-der-poel-wins-gold-mens-10000m-breaks-world-record-2022-02-11 in the men's 10,000m on Friday, with the new marks being set despite the venue being at a lower altitude than the likes of Calgary and Salt Lake City, where the thinner air provides less resistance for skaters.

"For us at sea level, to compare our times to somebody at high altitude is very difficult," Messer told Reuters.

"The air is much thinner. The resistance is a big piece of the puzzle so we can look at the times, and if they're set in Salt Lake or Calgary, we don't expect to have that time."

But in Beijing, Irene Schouten https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/speed-skating-dutchwoman-schouten-wins-gold-womens-5000m-2022-02-10 and Kjeld Nuis https://www.reuters.com/article/olympics-2022-speedskating-idCNL1N2UJ052 of the Netherlands both broke Olympic records set in Salt Lake City that had been untouched for two decades.

"That's one of the reasons we're quite proud of those. Those are 20-year records that were set at a high altitude. If we can hit those times then we know we've got something magical happening," added the softspoken 61-year-old.

Making fast ice in a newly-built, low altitude rink during a pandemic was no easy task. With limited travel opportunities and unfamiliar technology, Messer had to feel his way through the process just a week before races started at his sixth Olympics.

"If we had more time before the Games we