How a match works, in a minute

How a long track race works

Skaters race in pairs on a 400 m oval, counter-clockwise, each in their own lane.
They swap lanes on the back straight every lap, so both cover the same distance.
The race is against the clock, not the other skater: the fastest time across all the pairs wins. Times are taken to a hundredth of a second.
The mass start is different: all skaters start together with no lanes, and points from sprints during the race decide the order.