A total of thirty-six speed skaters could qualify for this distance, with a maximum of four skaters per country. The top 20 of the 2013–14 ISU Speed Skating World Cup – Women's 500 metres standings after the fourth World Cup race in Berlin secured a spot for their country. Then the additional 16 spots were awarded based on a time ranking of all times skated in the World Cup and the 2014 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships. A reserve list was also made.[3]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
The races were held at 16:45[6] and 18:34.[7]Lee Sang-hwa became the third woman to win back-to-back golds, having previously won the distance at the 2010 Olympics, and the first Korean woman to do so.[8][9]
On 24 November 2017, silver medalist from Russia Olga Fatkulina was disqualified for a doping violation.[10] On 1 February 2018, her results were restored as a result of the successful appeal.[11]