Evolution of the world record 500 meters Men
| # | name | time | place | track type | date | |||
| 1 | Oscar Grundén | SWE | 0:50.8 | Neglingeviken | SWE | outdoor - natural | 28 Feb 1891 | |
| 2 | Einar Halvorsen | NOR | 0:50.2 | Hamar | NOR | outdoor - natural | 28 Feb 1892 | |
| 3 | Alfred Næss | NOR | 0:49.4 | Hamar | NOR | outdoor - natural | 5 Feb 1893 | |
| 4 | Einar Halvorsen | NOR | 0:48.0 | Hamar | NOR | outdoor - natural | 26 Feb 1893 | |
| 5 | Oskar Fredriksen | NOR | 0:47.8 | Kristiania | NOR | outdoor - natural | 21 Jan 1894 | |
| 6 | Einar Halvorsen | NOR | 0:47.0 | Hamar | NOR | outdoor - natural | 24 Feb 1894 | |
| 7 | Wilhelm Mauseth | NOR | 0:46.8 | Trondheim | NOR | outdoor - natural | 3 Feb 1895 | |
| 8 | Peder Østlund | NOR | 0:46.6 | Trondheim | NOR | outdoor - natural | 7 Feb 1897 | |
| 9 | Peder Østlund | NOR | 0:45.2 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 10 Feb 1900 | |
| 10 | Rudolf Gundersen | NOR | 0:44.8 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 27 Jan 1906 | |
| 11 | Sigurd Mathisen | NOR | 0:44.4 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 9 Feb 1908 | |
| 12 | Oscar Mathisen | NOR | 0:44.2 | Kristiania | NOR | outdoor - natural | 17 Feb 1912 | |
| 13 | Oscar Mathisen | NOR | 0:44.0 | Hamar | NOR | outdoor - natural | 16 Mar 1913 | |
| 14 | Oscar Mathisen | NOR | 0:43.7 | Kristiania | NOR | outdoor - natural | 10 Jan 1914 | |
| 15 | Oscar Mathisen | NOR | 0:43.4 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 17 Jan 1914 | |
| 16 | Roald Larsen | NOR | 0:43.1 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 4 Feb 1928 | |
| 17 | Clas Thunberg | FIN | 0:42.8 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 19 Jan 1929 | |
| 18 | Clas Thunberg | FIN | 0:42.6 | St. Moritz | SUI | outdoor - natural | 13 Jan 1931 | |
| 19 | Hans Engnestangen | NOR | 0:42.5 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 21 Jan 1933 | |
| 20 | Allan Potts | USA | 0:42.4 | Oslo | NOR | outdoor - natural | 18 Jan 1936 | |
| 21 | Hans Engnestangen | NOR | 0:42.3 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 30 Jan 1937 | |
| 22 | Hans Engnestangen | NOR | 0:41.8 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 5 Feb 1938 | |
| 23 | Yury Sergeyev | URS | 0:41.7 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 6 Jan 1952 | |
| 24 | Yury Sergeyev | URS | 0:41.2 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 19 Jan 1952 | |
| 25 | Yury Sergeyev | URS | 0:40.9 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 25 Jan 1953 | |
| 26 | Yury Sergeyev | URS | 0:40.8 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 19 Jan 1955 | |
| 27 | Yevgeny Grishin | URS | 0:40.2 | Misurina | ITA | outdoor - natural | 22 Jan 1956 | |
| 28 | Yevgeny Grishin | URS | 0:40.2 | Misurina | ITA | outdoor - natural | 28 Jan 1956 | |
| 29 | Yevgeny Grishin | URS | 0:39.6 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 27 Jan 1963 | |
| 30 | Yevgeny Grishin | URS | 0:39.5 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 28 Jan 1963 | |
| 31 | Erhard Keller | FRG | 0:39.2 | Inzell | FRG | outdoor - artificial | 28 Jan 1968 | |
| 32 | Keiichi Suzuki | JPN | 0:39.2 | Inzell | FRG | outdoor - artificial | 1 Mar 1969 | |
| 33 | Valery Muratov | URS | 0:39.09 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 9 Jan 1970 | |
| 34 | Boris Gulyayev | URS | 0:39.03 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 13 Jan 1970 | |
| 35 | Hasse Börjes | SWE | 0:38.9 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 18 Jan 1970 | |
| 36 | Valery Muratov | URS | 0:38.99 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 24 Jan 1970 | |
| 37 | Hasse Börjes | SWE | 0:38.87 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 25 Jan 1970 | |
| 38 | Valery Muratov | URS | 0:38.73 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - natural | 29 Jan 1970 | |
| 39 | Keiichi Suzuki | JPN | 0:38.71 | Inzell | FRG | outdoor - artificial | 7 Mar 1970 | |
| 40 | Hasse Börjes | SWE | 0:38.46 | Inzell | FRG | outdoor - artificial | 8 Mar 1970 | |
| 41 | Erhard Keller | FRG | 0:38.42 | Inzell | FRG | outdoor - artificial | 14 Mar 1971 | |
| 42 | Erhard Keller | FRG | 0:38.30 | Inzell | FRG | outdoor - artificial | 2 Jan 1972 | |
| 43 | Leo Linkovesi | FIN | 0:38.0 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 8 Jan 1972 | |
| 44 | Erhard Keller | FRG | 0:38.0 | Inzell | FRG | outdoor - artificial | 4 Mar 1972 | |
| 45 | Lasse Efskind | NOR | 0:38.0 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 13 Jan 1973 | |
| 46 | Yevgeny Kulikov | URS | 0:37.99 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - artificial | 15 Mar 1975 | |
| 47 | Yevgeny Kulikov | URS | 0:37.97 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - artificial | 16 Mar 1975 | |
| 48 | Valery Muratov | URS | 0:37.85 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - artificial | 18 Mar 1975 | |
| 49 | Yevgeny Kulikov | URS | 0:37.20 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - artificial | 28 Mar 1975 | |
| 50 | Yevgeny Kulikov | URS | 0:37.00 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - artificial | 29 Mar 1975 | |
| 51 | Yevgeny Kulikov | URS | 0:36.91 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - artificial | 28 Mar 1981 | |
| 52 | Pavel Pegov | URS | 0:36.68 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - artificial | 25 Mar 1983 | |
| 53 | Pavel Pegov | URS | 0:36.57 | Medeo | URS | outdoor - artificial | 26 Mar 1983 | |
| 54 | Nick Thometz | USA | 0:36.55 | Heerenveen | NED | indoor - artificial | 19 Mar 1987 | |
| 55 | Uwe-Jens Mey | GDR | 0:36.45 | Calgary | CAN | indoor - artificial | 14 Feb 1988 | |
| 56 | Uwe-Jens Mey | GER | 0:36.43 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 19 Jan 1992 | |
| 57 | Dan Jansen | USA | 0:36.41 | Davos | SUI | outdoor - natural | 25 Jan 1992 | |
| 58 | Dan Jansen | USA | 0:36.41 | Calgary | CAN | indoor - artificial | 19 Mar 1993 | |
| 59 | Dan Jansen | USA | 0:36.02 | Calgary | CAN | indoor - artificial | 20 Mar 1993 | |
| 60 | Dan Jansen | USA | 0:35.92 | Hamar | NOR | indoor - artificial | 4 Dec 1993 | |
| 61 | Dan Jansen | USA | 0:35.76 | Calgary | CAN | indoor - artificial | 30 Jan 1994 | |
| 62 | Hiroyasu Shimizu | JPN | 0:35.39 | Calgary | CAN | indoor - artificial | 2 Mar 1996 | |
| 63 | Hiroyasu Shimizu | JPN | 0:35.36 | * | Calgary | CAN | indoor - artificial | 28 Mar 1998 |
| 64 | Hiroyasu Shimizu | JPN | 0:34.82 | * | Calgary | CAN | indoor - artificial | 28 Mar 1998 |
| 65 | Jeremy Wotherspoon | CAN | 0:34.76 | * | Calgary | CAN | indoor - artificial | 20 Feb 1999 |
| 66 | Jeremy Wotherspoon | CAN | 0:34.63 | * | Calgary | CAN | indoor - artificial | 29 Jan 2000 |
| 67 | Hiroyasu Shimizu | JPN | 0:34.32 | * | Salt Lake City | USA | indoor - artificial | 10 Mar 2001 |
| 68 | Joji Kato | JPN | 0:34.30 | * | Salt Lake City | USA | indoor - artificial | 19 Nov 2005 |
| 69 | Lee Kang-seok | KOR | 0:34.25 | * | Salt Lake City | USA | indoor - artificial | 9 Mar 2007 |
| 70 | Jeremy Wotherspoon | CAN | 0:34.03 | * | Salt Lake City | USA | indoor - artificial | 9 Nov 2007 |
| 71 | Pavel Kulizhnikov | RUS | 0:34.00 | * | Calgary | CAN | indoor - artificial | 15 Nov 2015 |
| 72 | Pavel Kulizhnikov | RUS | 0:33.98 | * | Salt Lake City | USA | indoor - artificial | 20 Nov 2015 |
| 73 | Pavel Kulizhnikov | RUS | 0:33.61 | * | Salt Lake City | USA | indoor - artificial | 9 Mar 2019 |
| * | = record skated on klap skates | |||||||

