Long track speed skating is a time-honored tradition, long held outdoors and practiced in northern places such as the Netherlands and Minnesota. At recent Olympic Games events, however, it has been held mostly indoors for more controlled conditions.
In 1998, long track speed skaters began using “clap skates” at the Nagano Olympic Games; this newer kind of ice skate contains mechanical parts that maintain more contact with the ice while allowing skaters to use more natural motion and thus travel faster. There was some controversy about the change (as with all equipment changes requiring athletes to have to un-train their old ways), but in the end the more natural motion and a large number of world records broken thanks to the technology alone won out; even in 1998, there was only one country that sent long track speed skaters to the Olympics without clap skates.
Medal leaders in long track as of this time:
Short track speed skating is a newer sport. It involves more skaters on the track at once, and as the name notes, the track is shorter. There is also more action, since there is more of a scramble; this makes it a more popular event in many places where the more traditional long track speed skating isn’t already popular.
As of the 2010 Olympics, these are the short track speed skating events at the Olympic Games: