Olympic Speedskating Schedule 2018: Men, Women Mass Start Live Stream

The mass start speedskating events at the 2018 Winter Olympics will be two of the last medals decided at this year's Games on Saturday.

This particular format of speedskating has only ever featured at one other Winter Games, and it's been a long 86-year wait since it made its only other Olympic appearance (Lake Placid, 1932).

However, after experiencing success in the cross-country skiing and biathlon events, the mass start will be welcomed back into the speedskating fold in 2018, and the field looks wide open as a result.

The Netherlands will be expected to feature heavily in the race for gold following a dominant run through the speedskating in Pyeongchang, South Korea, winning three in the men's division and four in the women's.

Read on for a preview of the men's and women's mass start, complete with full schedule for the event and how you can live-stream the action.

Date: Saturday, February 24

TV Info: NBC Universal (U.S.), BBC and Eurosport (UK)

Live Stream: NBC Olympics (U.S.), BBC iPlayer (UK), Eurosport Player (UK)

Mass Start Schedule

Men's 

Semi-final: 6:45 a.m. ET/11:45 a.m. GMT

Final: 8 a.m. ET/1 p.m. GMT 

Women's

Semi-final: 6 a.m. ET/11 a.m. GMT

Final: 7:30 a.m. ET/12:30 p.m. GMT 

Preview

The mass start promises to be an entertaining event, comprising a jostle for position at the beginning followed by a prolonged battle of speed and stamina to outlast opponents over 16 laps (6.4 kilometres).

In the men's format, eight skaters will advance from each of the three semi-finals to make up a 24-man decider, while eight women will advance from both of their semis to make up a 16-entry final, per Olympic.org.

The mass start format began its induction into the Olympic programme in 2015 and has been trialled at several other events in preparation for Pyeongchang, including at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway:

Min Seok Kim was the victor on that occasion, and with two more years of experience to his name, South Korea's home favourite will be considered among the top contenders to leave his mark on the men's race.

The United States will be the joint-most heavily represented nation competing in the men's event, and Brian Hansen posted a message of excitement ahead of the qualification run on Saturday morning:

It's inevitable that the Netherlands will be considered as being among the favourites to top the times, with the likes of Sven Kramer and Jorrit Bergsma sitting among their top talents.

If the Dutch are to add to their haul of seven speedskating golds, Irene Schouten will be looked upon as another top contender in the field, and she sent a message of intent to her competition:

Annouk van der Weijden and Carlijn Achtereekte are the other skaters who make up the Netherlands contingent. They are one of five nations who will bring three participants into the mass start.

The United States are again among those in the women's race, and NBC's Nick Zaccardi noted how they're attempting to build off a historic bronze medal in the women's team pursuit:

Heather Bergsma, wife of Dutch men's speedskater Jorrit Bergsma, will put all loyalties to one side as she hopes to give the United States a late push in the medal table alongside her team-mates.