Speed Skating Canada – Heerenveen, Netherlands, December 11, 2016 – Ted-Jan Bloemen won the bronze medal in the 10,000m race, Sunday, on the last day of the ISU World Cup Long Track Speed Skating stage held in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

Holder of the world record in that distance since the fall of 2015, which stands at 12:36.30, Ted-Jan Bloemen of Calgary, AB, skated Sunday’s 10,000m race in 13:00.07. Dutch skaters Jorrit Bergsma (12:52.20) and Erik-Jan Kooiman (12:57.92) respectively collected gold and silver at home.

“It was a mental battle, it took me a bit of time before I was able to figure out how to stay tough and bring my lap times down. That was a good lesson,” said Ted-Jan Bloemen, who collected a silver medal in the 10 000m at last spring’s World Single Distance Championships.

“My time wasn’t where it should have been, and it’s only a bronze medal. But if I compare today’s race to how I was skating in earlier World Cups this season, I can definitely say that things are moving in the right direction. Which is a good thing heading towards the World Championships.”

In the B group, Jordan Belchos (13:09.84) of Toronto, ON, took fourth place and qualified a second spot for Canada at the 2017 World Single Distance Championships, which will be held Feb. 9-12, in Gangneung, South Korea.

“I’m pretty happy with my race today. I think it may have been my best race of the fall World Cups,” said Jordan Belchos. “I really felt a lot of pressure today to perform given how well I did at the World Single Distance Championships last season and how fast a lot of the guys were going today. I feel really relieved with my performance and it feels good to know that I was able to come through and execute my race well after feeling like I had my back against the wall going into this race.”

“I’m also happy to see my teammate (Bloemen) get a bronze medal today considering everything we do together. When I see him race well, it also gives me confidence.”

De Haître, second in the 1000m Overall Ranking

In the men’s 1000m, after winning gold in that distance last week in Astana, Kazakhstan, Vincent de Haître of Cumberland, ON, was seventh on Sunday, skating to a time of 1:08.93. He was sixth in each of the first two World Cup stages of the season, in China and in Japan.

Kjeld Nuis (1:08.21) of the Netherlands won gold, followed by Shani Davis (1:08.57) of the United States and South Korea’s Jin-Su Kim (1:08.63).

“For sure, it’s fun to win but you can’t win all of them! Seventh position is my lowest ranking in four races so far this season, but I think it still is a good finish,” said De Haître, who is presently second in overall standings in the 1000m distance. “It beats my previous ranking from last year. I think I’m showing good improvement and I’m happy about that. It was a good way to wrap up the fall World Cups.”

For his part, Alexandre St-Jean of Quebec City, QC, earned his best result and posted his fastest time so far this season, as he finished ninth in 1:09.02. Laurent Dubreuil (1:09.66) of Lévis, QC, was 16th.

“I’m happy about being among the top 10. Things are improving,” said Alexandre St-Jean. “My starts are getting faster and faster. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’m going in the right direction. My first lap was good today, which is a good thing. I had a tougher time during the last lap, but I still had a fast finish.”

In the 5000m, Isabelle Weidemann (7:08.80) of Ottawa, ON, was the top Canadian with a seventh-place finish. Ivanie Blondin (7:09.55), also from Ottawa, was 10th.

“I’m pretty happy with how it went today,” said Isabelle Weidemann. “I’ve focused on the technical things that I’ve been working on. I’ve been trying to keep it consistent and I was looking to finish off the Fall World Cup circuit with a good one.”

In the women’s 1000m, Marsha Hudey (1:17.99) was 18th.

TODAY’S CANADIAN RESULTS

10,000m M

BRONZE – Ted-Jan Bloemen (13:00.07)

5000m W

7. Isabelle Weidemann (7:08.80)

10. Ivanie Blondin (7:09.55)

1000m (A) M

7. Vincent de Haître (1:08.93)

9. Alexandre St-Jean (1:09.02)

16. Laurent Dubreuil (1:09.66)

1000m (A) W

18. Marsha Hudey (1:17.99)

10,000m (B) M

4. Jordan Belchos (13:09.84)

1000m (B) W

8. Heather McLean (1:18.326)

10. Kaylin Irvine (1:18.65)

20. Noémie Fiset (1:20.34)

1000m (B) M

18. Alex Boisvert-Lacroix (1:10.96)

22. Denny Morrison (1:11.05)

More details are available at Speed Skating Canada’s website at  www.speedskating.ca.

About Speed Skating Canada

Speed Skating Canada (SSC) is the governing body for competitive long track and short track speed skating in Canada. Founded in 1887, the association is comprised of 13 provincial and territorial branches representing more than 14,000 individual members, and counting. SSC believes that sport is an apprenticeship for life and prizes respect for others, integrity, excellence of effort, as well as a safe, healthy environment. SSC recognizes and values its outstanding volunteers who give freely of their time and expertise. It also celebrates the 63 Olympic medals won by Canadian athletes since 1932, as well as the coaches, officials and other dedicated individuals who helped them on their journey.

SSC is proud to be affiliated with partners that share the same vision and values including our premium sponsors Intact Insurance, as well as our funding partners, the Government of Canada, Own the Podium, and WinSport Canada.

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