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With the eyes of the world upon him, Dutchman Gianni Romme showed what technology can do by slicing more than eight seconds from his previous world record in Sunday's opening race, the men's 5,000 metres.
Romme's talent, of course, merited heaps of praise but what everybody was talking about was the hinged slap skates he was wearing and, in particular, the aerodynamic rubber strips stuck on his skin suit.
The strips, which reduce air turbulence, were developed after secret studies at the university of the Dutch city of Delft. They illustrate the growing importance of technical innovations in speed skating.
"It's Formula One on ice," said Dutch coach Wopke de Vegt.
Canadian coach Robert Tremblay said the thin zig-zagging strips attached to each shin and over the forehead of the leading Dutch skaters were not the main reason for Romme's sensational performance.
"The main thing was his low body position," he said. "The Dutch team might just be playing mind games but if the strips do make a difference, then we should welcome them.
"The goal of speed skating is to go as fast as possible on the ice and anything that helps doing that is good for the sport."
Dutch-born Austrian skater Marnix Ten Kortenaart, a student at Delft University who helped develop the strips, had a totally different opinion of their efficiency.
"Our measurements indicate it (the gain of time from using the strips) is about five seconds over 5,000 metres," he said.
The Dutch team presented the strips to the technical delegates of the International Skating Union (ISU) last Thursday and late on Saturday -- the evening before the race -- received permission to use them.
"Maybe it (the late decision) created a difficulty for some competitors but the psychological advantage (from using the skates) was much stronger than any possibility of a physical advantage," said ISU vice-president Gerd Zimmermann.
The ISU on Monday turned down protests by Japan and Norway, saying the strips did not breach the rules on skaters' equipment in any way and allowing competitors to keep using them at the Olympics.
The strips came as a surprise even to speed skating insiders but records were expected to fall in Nagano's M-Wave arena for another reason -- the slap skates.
The invention of researchers in biomechanics from the university of Amsterdam, the new skates use the principle of a cross-country ski boot.
The blade being only attached to the toe, skaters can release the heel. As a result, the blade stays in contact with the ice for a longer period of time when a stride is taken.
The skates first hit the headlines last winter when they helped Dutch women to sensational times over the middle and long distances.
The ISU ratified their use in competition last June and a few weeks later, everybody was using them. Records -- even some believed to be impregnable -- have been tumbling all season and the rewriting of the statistics books is still going on.
"We've enjoyed constant progress over the years, including the slap skates and now the strips," said Zimmermann. "I believe it's a good thing for our sport."
Since Dutch peasants first took off their wooden clogs to go skating on frozen canals there have been a number of revolutions in speed skating.
In the late 1970s, the introduction of skin suits had a similar effect. Then came the covered rinks, which also led to most records being shattered.
More surprises are just around the corner. Researchers in the Dutch university of Groningen are busy working on a new slap skate, whose axis is not fixed to the boot but moves forward as the skate opens.
They believe their version of the slap skate is significantly faster than the current one.