37-year-old Ted-Jan Bloemen captures second gold medal of the competition with 10,000m victory
CALGARY, ALBERTA – Four different Olympians – Ivanie Blondin, Connor Howe, Isabelle Weidemann and Ted-Jan Bloemen – reached the top step of the podium on Friday at the 2023 Canadian Long Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance in Calgary.
The second racing day opened with the first women’s 1000m event of the weekend. Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.) had a winning time of 1:15.62, her second medal of the competition after coming away with the bronze in the women’s 3000m yesterday. Maddison Pearman (Ponoka, Alta.) claimed the silver medal with a time of 1:16.43, while Carolina Hiller (Prince George, B.C.) raced a personal best time of 1:16.68, climbing the podium for the second time this week following her gold medal win in yesterday’s 500m.
Connor Howe (Canmore, Alta.) was crowned champion in the first men’s 1000m. The 23-year-old, who won silver in the men’s 5000m yesterday, came out ahead of 28 other skaters in the event. Laurent Dubreuil (Lévis, Que.) continued his medal streak by claiming silver with a time of 1:08.08, one day after winning gold in the 500m. Three-time Olympian, and two-sport athlete, Vincent de Haitre (Cumberland, Ont.), finished third with a time of 1:08.31.
Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.) soared to victory in the women’s 5000m, crossing the finish line at 6:56.28. It marked the second medal of the competition for Weidemann, who captured silver in the women’s 3000m yesterday. Valerie Maltais (Chicoutimi, Que.), the reigning Canadian Champion in the women’s 3000m, skated to a silver medal with a personal best time of 6:58.77. Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.) added to her medal collection, finishing the race with a time of 7:04.65 to claim bronze.
Ted-Jan Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.) won his second consecutive Canadian Championship title of the competition, adding to his 5000m victory by finishing the men’s 10,000m race with a time of 13:06.95. Graeme Fish (Moose Jaw, Sask.) also raced to his second medal, earning the silver with a time of 13:13.39. And after narrowly missing the podium in yesterday’s 5000m, Jordan Belchos (Markham, Ont.) secured 10,000m bronze with a time of 13:19.10.
The third day of the 2023 Canadian Long Track Championships presented by Intact Insurance will feature the second set of men’s and women’s 500m, as well as the men’s and women’s 1500m. The races will be live streamed starting at 10:00am MT on Speed Skating Canada’s YouTube channel, as well as on CBC Sports digital platforms.
Quotes
Ivanie Blondin“I was really happy to kind of get that one over and done with. I woke up with a little migraine but just focused on what I needed to do and stayed positive. I went out there and skated the best that I could, and I was really happy with the result. I want to try to do as many distances as I can this season without blowing myself up too much. I’ve proven that I can do it and still perform really well internationally, so kind of looking forward to that.”
Connor Howe“I was happy with it today. It ended up being a good start and two close laps, so I’m feeling good. I want to build upon my 1500m still and keep skating well. The goal would be a medal at World Single Distance Championships.”
Isabelle Weidemann“Honestly, I was out there today to just skate some really consistent times. I really struggled through yesterday. It’s not coming easy right now, and sometimes when we’re really struggling, we’re trying to search for it a lot. I just wanted to let myself skate and that’s what I tried to do today. [I’m looking forward to] racing a lot more. I think the team is really fun. There’s a lot of energy – a lot of new faces and first World Cups – and that brings back a lot of the joy into what we’re doing.”
Ted-Jan Bloemen“This one was hard. It didn’t feel good but apparently it’s really hard to beat a father on a 10km! I might skate the Mass Start still, but the 5km and 10km were the main events for me. and I’m happy I could win them both.”