STAVANGER, Norway — Olympic-caliber speedskaters sometimes race for more than six miles, and gold medals can be determined by hundredths of a second. Countries that take the sport seriously have looked for every possible scientific advantage, from the composition of the hinge that connects the skate blade to the boot to the aerodynamics of hoods on racing suits.

In the months leading up to the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, some of the sport’s biggest powers seem to be under the sway of a new and far less scientifically rigorous belief about their equipment: Blue is the fastest color.

Speedskating fans and competitors were bemused recently when skaters from three countries — Germany, Norway and South Korea — showed up to the first World Cup event of the season wearing new uniforms in a suspiciously similar shade of blue. South Korea has historically worn blue. Germany and Norway have not.

The attire was particularly jarring for Norway, whose long history of speedskating prowess has been attained in red — always in red. Norway has won 80 speedskating medals at the Olympics, behind only the 105 won by the Netherlands. It was as if the Yankees had showed up at the baseball playoffs in polka dots rather than pinstripes.