Forty-five speed skaters from 14 nations competed.
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in minutes) prior to the 1948 Winter Olympics.
All three medalists were faster than the standing Olympic record. Sverre Farstad set the new Olympic record with a time of 2:17.6 seconds.
Place | Athlete | Time | 1 | {{flagIOCathlete|Sverre Farstad|NOR|1948 Winter}} | 2:17.6 |
2 | {{flagIOCathlete|Åke Seyffarth|SWE|1948 Winter}} | 2:18.1 |
3 | {{flagIOCathlete|Odd Lundberg|NOR|1948 Winter}} | 2:18.9 |
4 | {{flagIOCathlete|Lassi Parkkinen|FIN|1948 Winter}} | 2:19.6 |
5 | {{flagIOCathlete|Harry Jansson|SWE|1948 Winter}} | 2:20.0 |
6 | {{flagIOCathlete|John Werket|USA|1948 Winter}} | 2:20.2 |
7 | {{flagIOCathlete|Kalevi Laitinen|FIN|1948 Winter}} | 2:20.3 |
8 | {{flagIOCathlete|Göthe Hedlund|SWE|1948 Winter}} | 2:20.7 |
9 | {{flagIOCathlete|Kees Broekman|NED|1948 Winter}} | 2:21.0 |
10 | {{flagIOCathlete|Gunnar Konsmo|NOR|1948 Winter}} | 2:21.2 |
{{flagIOCathlete|Iván Ruttkay|HUN|1948 Winter}} | 2:21.2 |
12 | {{flagIOCathlete|Antero Ojala|FIN|1948 Winter}} | 2:21.4 |
13 | {{flagIOCathlete|Jan Langedijk|NED|1948 Winter}} | 2:21.9 |
14 | {{flagIOCathlete|Kornél Pajor|HUN|1948 Winter}} | 2:22.2 |
15 | {{flagIOCathlete|János Kilián|HUN|1948 Winter}} | 2:22.5 |
16 | {{flagIOCathlete|Ivar Martinsen|NOR|1948 Winter}} | 2:22.6 |
17 | {{flagIOCathlete|Mats Bolmstedt|SWE|1948 Winter}} | 2:22.8 |
18 | {{flagIOCathlete|Henry Howes|GBR|1948 Winter}} | 2:23.0 |
19 | {{flagIOCathlete|Lee Hiyo-Chang|KOR|1948 Winter}} | 2:23.3 |
20 | {{flagIOCathlete|Ray Blum|USA|1948 Winter}} | 2:23.4 |
21 | {{flagIOCathlete|Pentti Lammio|FIN|1948 Winter}} | 2:23.9 |
22 | {{flagIOCathlete|Ken Henry|USA|1948 Winter}} | 2:24.6 |
23 | {{flagIOCathlete|Bruce Peppin|GBR|1948 Winter}} | 2:24.7 |
24 | {{flagIOCathlete|Anton Huiskes|NED|1948 Winter}} | 2:25.0 |
25 | {{flagIOCathlete|Aad de Koning|NED|1948 Winter}} | 2:25.3 |
26 | {{flagIOCathlete|Vladimír Kolář|TCH|1948 Winter}} | 2:25.6 |
27 | {{flagIOCathlete|Frank Stack|CAN|1948 Winter}} | 2:25.7 |
28 | {{flagIOCathlete|Robert Fitzgerald|USA|1948 Winter}} | 2:27.0 |
29 | {{flagIOCathlete|Abraham Hardy|CAN|1948 Winter}} | 2:28.5 |
30 | {{flagIOCathlete|Dennis Blundell|GBR|1948 Winter}} | 2:29.2 |
31 | {{flagIOCathlete|Choi Young-Chin|KOR|1948 Winter}} | 2:29.8 |
32 | {{flagIOCathlete|Gordon Audley|CAN|1948 Winter}} | 2:30.0 |
{{flagIOCathlete|Enrico Musolino|ITA|1948 Winter}} | 2:30.0 |
34 | {{flagIOCathlete|Giorgio Cattaneo|ITA|1948 Winter}} | 2:30.5 |
{{flagIOCathlete|Hanspeter Vogt|SUI|1948 Winter}} | 2:30.5 |
36 | {{flagIOCathlete|Guido Caroli|ITA|1948 Winter}} | 2:30.9 |
{{flagIOCathlete|Lee Chang-Kook|KOR|1948 Winter}} | 2:30.9 |
38 | {{flagIOCathlete|Max Stiepl|AUT|1948 Winter}} | 2:31.2 |
39 | {{flagIOCathlete|Gedeon Ladányi|HUN|1948 Winter}} | 2:31.3 |
40 | {{flagIOCathlete|Gustav Slanec|AUT|1948 Winter}} | 2:31.9 |
41 | {{flagIOCathlete|Thomas Ross|GBR|1948 Winter}} | 2:32.6 |
42 | {{flagIOCathlete|Rudolf Kleiner|SUI|1948 Winter}} | 2:33.0 |
43 | {{flagIOCathlete|Sepp Rogger|SUI|1948 Winter}} | 2:34.7 |
44 | {{flagIOCathlete|Ferdinand Preindl|AUT|1948 Winter}} | 2:38.6 |
45 | {{flagIOCathlete|Pierre Huylebroeck|BEL|1948 Winter}} | 2:40.2 |