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The council of the sport's governing International Skating Union met to study concerns expressed by Japan and Norway that the revolutionary strips might violate ISU rules.
"The technical delegates and the ISU council are fully satisfied that there is no breach of the rules," ISU technical delegate Gerd Zimermann said after the meeting.
"If there had been a breach of the rules, we would have taken immediate action," added Zimermann, also an ISU vice president.
After Romme took more than eight seconds off his own previous 5,000 metres world record by clocking six minutes 22.20 seconds on Sunday to claim the gold medal, Norwegian coach Sletten Svein Havard said he thought the strips might break the rules. Japanese team officials also complained.
"It was not an official protest, it was very polite," said ISU spokesman Peggy Dain.
The Norwegian and the Japanese referred to rule 276 on a skater's equipment, which states that insertion or attachment of forms or devices to create a different shape is not permitted.
"The technical delegates ruled that the strips, which are one centimetre wide, two centimetres steep and only 1.5 millimetre deep, do not create a different shape," said Dain.
The zig-zagging thin rubber strips, two of which are worn on each shin and one on the forehead, break up the air and help reduce vacuum pockets which can fractionally slow a skater.
Not only Romme but also compatriot Rintje Ritsma and Dutch- born Belgian Bart Veldkamp, who took silver and bronze respectively with the second and third fastest times ever, wore the strips in Sunday's race.
The Dutch team, who had been conducting secret research to sppeed up their skaters since the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, presented the strips to ISU's technical delegates on Thursday. Late on Saturday, they received permission to use them at the Olympics.
Records were expected to tumble on the ice of Nagano's high- tech rink as all the top competitors are now familiar with the new, hinged slap skates, which allow skaters to lift off the blade from the heel while taking a stride.
The slap skates, which were first used by the Dutch women's team over the long distances last winter, have led to a rewriting of the record books that is still under way.
As Sunday's race suggested, the strips are increasing the upheaval shaking the sport and more records should fall in the M-Wave arena before the end of the Games.
"We have enjoyed constant progress in speed skating over the years," said Zimermann. "That includes the slap skates as well as the strips and I think it's good for the image of our sport."
Added devices to reduce air turbulence are nothing new in speed skating, as Canadian sprint star Catriona Le May Doan explained.
"I've been using these for years and nobody's made a fuss about it," she said, showing rubber patches with yellow parallel stripes on her shins.
"People are getting all worked up about a tiny thing which does not make that much difference," she added.
But American team coach Geerd Kemkers said he heard the Dutch skaters say they thought the strips could help them gain half a second a lap.
"That means they're as good as the slap skates," he said.
American skater K.C. Boutiette, who set a national record of 6:39.67 to finish 14th on Snnday, said he was "inspired" by the Dutch performances.
"I think it's great for the sport," he said. "Sports can get in a rut sometimes but this really opens the door."