Innovations in Olympic Speed Skating: When to Reveal a Novel Approach

The U.S. Men’s Olympic speed skating team devised a new approach to the team pursuit event following their disappointing performance in the 2018 Winter Olympics. The team saw promising initial results from their innovations, but they faced a decision about whether to reveal their new techniques. The U.S. Team’s strategy was easily imitated if competitors witnessed it in a race, but it was a risk not to test it in competition before the Olympics. And, were here possible upsides to imitation if it improved the entire sport? Should they share their techniques, and if so, when? Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Rebecca Karp joins Brian Kenny to discuss the case, “A Winning Strategy: Innovation in Olympic Speed Skating.”

You can listen to Innovations in Olympic Speed Skating: When to Reveal a Novel Approach online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Innovations in Olympic Speed Skating: When to Reveal a Novel Approach is an episode from Cold Call by HBR Presents / Brian Kenny.

This episode is 22:27 long.

This episode was published on Feb 17, 2026.

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