| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1889 | Amsterdam | | | |
| 1890 | Amsterdam | | | |
| 1891 | Amsterdam | Joe Donoghue | | |
| 1892 | Amsterdam | Cancelled due to ice conditions | | |
| 1940 | Oslo | Alfons Berzinš | Harry Haraldsen | Charles Mathiesen |
| 1946 | Oslo | Odd Lundberg | Göthe Hedlund | Charles Mathiesen |
| | Official championships | | |
| Year | Location | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1893 | Amsterdam | Jaap Eden | None declared | None declared |
| 1894 | Stockholm | None declared | None declared | None declared |
| 1895 | Hamar | Jaap Eden | None declared | None declared |
| 1896 | St. Petersburg | Jaap Eden (3) | None declared | None declared |
| 1897 | Montreal | Jack McCulloch | None declared | None declared |
| 1898 | Davos | Peder Østlund | None declared | None declared |
| 1899 | Berlin | Peder Østlund (2) | None declared | None declared |
| 1900 | Kristiania (Oslo) | Edvard Engelsaas | None declared | None declared |
| 1901 | Stockholm | Franz Frederik Wathén [a] | None declared | None declared |
| 1902 | Helsingfors (Helsinki) | None declared | None declared | None declared |
| 1903 | St. Petersburg | None declared | None declared | None declared |
| 1904 | Kristiania (Oslo) | Sigurd Mathisen | None declared | None declared |
| 1905 | Groningen | Coen de Koning | None declared | None declared |
| 1906 | Helsingfors (Helsinki) | None declared | None declared | None declared |
| 1907 | Trondhjem (Trondheim) | None declared | None declared | None declared |
| 1908 | Davos | Oscar Mathisen | Martin Sæterhaug | Moje Öholm |
| 1909 | Kristiania (Oslo) | Oscar Mathisen | Oluf Steen | Otto Andersson |
| 1910 | Helsingfors (Helsinki) | Nikolay Strunnikov | Oscar Mathisen | Martin Sæterhaug |
| 1911 | Trondhjem (Trondheim) | Nikolay Strunnikov (2) | Martin Sæterhaug | Henning Olsen |
| 1912 | Kristiania (Oslo) | Oscar Mathisen | Gunnar Strömsten [b] | Trygve Lundgren |
| 1913 | Helsingfors (Helsinki) | Oscar Mathisen | Vasily Ippolitov | Nikita Naidenov |
| 1914 | Kristiania (Oslo) | Oscar Mathisen (5) | Vasily Ippolitov | Wäinö Wickstrøm [c] |
| 1915 | | Not held due to World War I | | |
| 1916 | | Not held due to World War I | | |
| 1917 | | Not held due to World War I | | |
| 1918 | | Not held due to World War I | | |
| 1919 | | Not held due to World War I | | |
| 1920 | | Not held due to World War I | | |
| 1921 | | Not held due to World War I | | |
| 1922 | Kristiania (Oslo) | Harald Strøm | Roald Larsen | Clas Thunberg |
| 1923 | Stockholm | Clas Thunberg | Harald Strøm | Yakov Melnikov |
| 1924 | Helsinki | Roald Larsen | Uuno Pietilä | Julius Skutnabb |
| 1925 | Oslo | Clas Thunberg | Uuno Pietilä | Roald Larsen |
| 1926 | Trondhjem (Trondheim) | Ivar Ballangrud | Roald Larsen | Bernt Evensen |
| 1927 | Tampere | Bernt Evensen | Clas Thunberg | Armand Carlsen |
| 1928 | Davos | Clas Thunberg | Ivar Ballangrud | Bernt Evensen |
| 1929 | Oslo | Clas Thunberg | Ivar Ballangrud | Michael Staksrud |
| 1930 | Oslo | Michael Staksrud | Ivar Ballangrud | Dolf van der Scheer |
| 1931 | Helsinki | Clas Thunberg (5) | Bernt Evensen | Ivar Ballangrud |
| 1932 | Lake Placid | Ivar Ballangrud | Michael Staksrud | Bernt Evensen |
| 1933 | Trondheim | Hans Engnestangen | Michael Staksrud | Ivar Ballangrud |
| 1934 | Helsinki | Bernt Evensen (2) | Birger Wasenius | Ivar Ballangrud |
| 1935 | Oslo | Michael Staksrud | Ivar Ballangrud | Hans Engnestangen |
| 1936 | Davos | Ivar Ballangrud | Birger Wasenius | Eddie Schroeder |
| 1937 | Oslo | Michael Staksrud (3) | Birger Wasenius | Max Stiepl |
| 1938 | Davos | Ivar Ballangrud (4) | Karl Wazulek | Charles Mathiesen |
| 1939 | Helsinki | Birger Wasenius | Alfons Berzinš | Charles Mathiesen |
| 1940 | | Not held due to World War II | | |
| 1941 | | Not held due to World War II | | |
| 1942 | | Not held due to World War II | | |
| 1943 | | Not held due to World War II | | |
| 1944 | | Not held due to World War II | | |
| 1945 | | Not held due to World War II | | |
| 1946 | | Not held due to World War II | | |
| 1947 | Oslo | Lassi Parkkinen | Sverre Farstad | Åke Seyffarth |
| 1948 | Helsinki | Odd Lundberg (2 [d] ) | Johnny Werket | Henry Wahl |
| 1949 | Oslo | Kornél Pajor | Kees Broekman | Odd Lundberg |
| 1950 | Eskilstuna | Hjalmar Andersen | Odd Lundberg | Johnny Werket |
| 1951 | Davos | Hjalmar Andersen | Johnny Cronshey | Kornél Pajor [e] |
| 1952 | Hamar | Hjalmar Andersen (3) | Lassi Parkkinen | Ivar Martinsen |
| 1953 | Helsinki | Oleg Goncharenko | Boris Shilkov | Wim van der Voort |
| 1954 | Sapporo | Boris Shilkov | Oleg Goncharenko | Yevgeny Grishin |
| 1955 | Moscow | Sigvard Ericsson | Oleg Goncharenko | Boris Shilkov |
| 1956 | Oslo | Oleg Goncharenko | Robert Merkulov | Yevgeny Grishin |
| 1957 | Östersund | Knut Johannesen | Boris Shilkov | Boris Zybin |
| 1958 | Helsinki | Oleg Goncharenko (3) | Vladimir Shilykovsky | Roald Aas |
| 1959 | Oslo | Juhani Järvinen | Toivo Salonen | Robert Merkulov |
| 1960 | Davos | Boris Stenin | André Kouprianoff | Helmut Kuhnert |
| 1961 | Gothenburg | Henk van der Grift | Viktor Kosichkin | Rudie Liebrechts |
| 1962 | Moscow | Viktor Kosichkin | Henk van der Grift | Ivar Nilsson |
| 1963 | Karuizawa | Jonny Nilsson | Knut Johannesen | Nils Aaness |
| 1964 | Helsinki | Knut Johannesen (2) | Viktor Kosichkin | Rudie Liebrechts |
| 1965 | Oslo | Per Ivar Moe | Jouko Launonen | Ard Schenk |
| 1966 | Gothenburg | Kees Verkerk | Ard Schenk | Jonny Nilsson |
| 1967 | Oslo | Kees Verkerk (2) | Ard Schenk | Fred Anton Maier |
| 1968 | Gothenburg | Fred Anton Maier | Magne Thomassen | Ard Schenk |
| 1969 | Deventer | Dag Fornæss | Göran Claeson | Kees Verkerk |
| 1970 | Oslo | Ard Schenk | Magne Thomassen | Kees Verkerk |
| 1971 | Gothenburg | Ard Schenk | Göran Claeson | Kees Verkerk |
| 1972 | Oslo | Ard Schenk (3) | Roar Grønvold | Jan Bols |
| 1973 | Deventer | Göran Claeson | Sten Stensen | Piet Kleine |
| 1974 | Inzell | Sten Stensen | Harm Kuipers | Göran Claeson |
| 1975 | Oslo | Harm Kuipers | Vladimir Ivanov | Yury Kondakov |
| 1976 | Heerenveen | Piet Kleine | Sten Stensen | Hans van Helden |
| 1977 | Heerenveen | Eric Heiden | Jan Egil Storholt | Sten Stensen |
| 1978 | Gothenburg | Eric Heiden | Jan Egil Storholt | Sergey Marchuk |
| 1979 | Oslo | Eric Heiden (3) | Jan Egil Storholt | Kay Arne Stenshjemmet |
| 1980 | Heerenveen | Hilbert van der Duim | Eric Heiden | Tom Erik Oxholm |
| 1981 | Oslo | Amund Sjøbrend | Kay Arne Stenshjemmet | Jan Egil Storholt |
| 1982 | Assen | Hilbert van der Duim (2) | Dmitry Bochkaryov | Rolf Falk-Larssen |
| 1983 | Oslo | Rolf Falk-Larssen | Tomas Gustafson | Aleksandr Baranov |
| 1984 | Gothenburg | Oleg Bozhev | Andreas Ehrig | Hilbert van der Duim |
| 1985 | Hamar | Hein Vergeer | Oleg Bozhev | Hilbert van der Duim |
| 1986 | Inzell | Hein Vergeer (2) | Oleg Bozhev | Viktor Shasherin |
| 1987 | Heerenveen | Nikolay Gulyayev | Oleg Bozhev | Michael Hadschieff |
| 1988 | Alma-Ata | Eric Flaim | Leo Visser | Dave Silk |
| 1989 | Oslo | Leo Visser | Gerard Kemkers | Geir Karlstad |
| 1990 | Innsbruck | Johann Olav Koss | Ben van der Burg | Bart Veldkamp |
| 1991 | Heerenveen | Johann Olav Koss | Roberto Sighel | Bart Veldkamp |
| 1992 | Calgary | Roberto Sighel | Falko Zandstra | Johann Olav Koss |
| 1993 | Hamar | Falko Zandstra | Johann Olav Koss | Rintje Ritsma |
| 1994 | Gothenburg | Johann Olav Koss (3) | Ids Postma | Rintje Ritsma |
| 1995 | Baselga di Pinè | Rintje Ritsma | Keiji Shirahata | Roberto Sighel |
| 1996 | Inzell | Rintje Ritsma | Ids Postma | Keiji Shirahata |
| 1997 | Nagano | Ids Postma | Keiji Shirahata | Frank Dittrich |
| 1998 | Heerenveen | Ids Postma (2) | Rintje Ritsma | Roberto Sighel |
| 1999 | Hamar | Rintje Ritsma | Vadim Sayutin | Eskil Ervik |
| 2000 | Milwaukee | Gianni Romme | Ids Postma | Rintje Ritsma |
| 2001 | Budapest | Rintje Ritsma (4) | Ids Postma | Bart Veldkamp [f] |
| 2002 | Heerenveen | Jochem Uytdehaage | Dmitry Shepel | Derek Parra |
| 2003 | Gothenburg | Gianni Romme (2) | Rintje Ritsma | Ids Postma |
| 2004 | Hamar | Chad Hedrick | Shani Davis | Carl Verheijen |
| 2005 | Moscow | Shani Davis | Chad Hedrick | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) |
| 2006 | Calgary | Shani Davis (2) | Enrico Fabris | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) |
| 2007 | Heerenveen | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) | Enrico Fabris | Carl Verheijen |
| 2008 | Berlin | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) | Håvard Bøkko | Shani Davis |
| 2009 | Hamar | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) | Håvard Bøkko | Enrico Fabris |
| 2010 | Heerenveen | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) | Jonathan Kuck | Håvard Bøkko |
| 2011 | Calgary | Ivan Skobrev | Håvard Bøkko | Jan Blokhuijsen (Netherlands) |
| 2012 | Moscow | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) | Jan Blokhuijsen (Netherlands) | Koen Verweij |
| 2013 | Hamar | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) | Håvard Bøkko | Bart Swings |
| 2014 | Heerenveen | Koen Verweij | Jan Blokhuijsen (Netherlands) | Denis Yuskov |
| 2015 | Calgary | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) | Denis Yuskov | Sverre Lunde Pedersen (Norway) |
| 2016 | Berlin | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) | Sverre Lunde Pedersen (Norway) | Jan Blokhuijsen (Netherlands) |
| 2017 | Hamar | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) (9) | Patrick Roest (Netherlands) | Jan Blokhuijsen (Netherlands) |
| 2018 | Amsterdam | Patrick Roest (Netherlands) | Sverre Lunde Pedersen (Norway) | Marcel Bosker |
| 2019 | Calgary, Canada | Patrick Roest (Netherlands) | Sverre Lunde Pedersen (Norway) | Sven Kramer (Netherlands) |
| 2020 | Hamar, Norway | Patrick Roest (Netherlands) | Sverre Lunde Pedersen (Norway) | Seitaro Ichinohe (Japan) |
