Speed skaters in the Gangneung Oval, Pyeongchang, South Korea Feb 9, 2018

Speed skaters in the Gangneung Oval, Pyeongchang, South Korea

The Gangneung Oval in Pyeongchang, South Korea, is where all the speed-skating action of the 2018 Winter Games will happen. Long-track skaters wear spandex suits to help reduce friction and maybe skate just a bit faster as a result. But the short-track skaters at the games wear Kevlar suits to protect against cuts from other skaters’ blades. Those tight turns can result in collisions, so the cut-proof suits are true lifesavers.

© Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Feb 9, 2019A tale of almonds and bees
Feb 9, 2020Hollywood s big night
Feb 9, 2021What s going on in this sky?
Feb 9, 2022Ceremony Hall at Sweden s Icehotel
Feb 9, 2023Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona
Feb 9, 2024Pegadung Rock, Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia
Feb 9, 2025Alstrom Point, Lake Powell, Utah
Feb 9, 2026Amur leopard cat, Russia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov 23, 2020Autumn comes to Old Town
Dec 30, 2021Westerheversand Lighthouse
Sep 8, 2019Just a couple of yellow-billed hornbills
Mar 7, 2022Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
Dec 17, 2019When in Rome...celebrate Saturnalia
Nov 22, 2025Leshan Giant Buddha, Sichuan, China
Mar 12, 2021Ringing in the new year at Teotihuacan
May 3, 2020World Laughter Day—it s a hoot
Feb 20, 2021An enduring vision
Apr 14, 2026Common clownfish in a sea anemone, Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia
Apr 9, 2025Naxos in the Cyclades Islands of Greece
Dec 10, 2019Congratulations, 2019 Nobel Prize laureates!
Oct 31, 2018Shhh, the movie is about to start
Nov 13, 2022River Quoich in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Jul 16, 2023Bear Hole Brook, Catskill Mountains, New York
May 2, 2025Striated heron on a Victoria water lily, Pantanal, Brazil
Apr 27, 2018National Park Week: Yosemite National Park, California
Aug 24, 2020Go with the rainbow flow
Sep 4, 2020A bull, some flowers, and a stratovolcano
Jul 31, 2024Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Dec 11, 2025International Mountain Day
Dec 30, 2023Daiichi Tadami River Bridge, Fukushima, Japan
Mar 10, 2021Commemorating the life of a famous railroad conductor
Jul 8, 2024National Blueberry Day
Feb 25, 2024Black History Month
Jun 16, 2022Seonam Temple, South Korea
Nov 6, 2021World Numbat Day
Aug 6, 2020Space-age style by the sea
Jun 19, 2025Happy Juneteenth!
Feb 1, 2018Stuben am Arlberg, Austria