Bloemen skates second fastest 5000m time of his career to capture bronze; Maltais wins second consecutive 3000m medal of the season

CALGARY, ALBERTA – Two of Canada’s oldest long track speed skaters showed that they still have their place amongst the world’s best during the opening day of ISU World Cup Speed Skating racing in Calgary, where 39-year-old Ted-Jan Bloemen won bronze in the men’s 5000m and 35-year-old Valérie Maltais captured bronze in the women’s 3000m.

Bloemen (Calgary, Alta.) skated the second fastest 5000m time of his illustrious career on Friday, setting an Olympic Oval track record of 6:02.26, which brought the hometown fans to their feet. The Canadian’s mark was short lived, as Norway’s Sander Eitrem, the eventual silver medalist, broke it by +0.40 two pairs later with a personal best time of 6:01.86. American Casey Dawson pushed the mark even further during the final pairing, stopping the clock at 6:01.84 to take the record and the gold medal.

“Last week, I kept the spirits high and attacked the race the way I wanted to, but I had already seen in my health data some indicators that I was fighting off something and wasn’t completely fit. I feel 100% again now and it showed in my race. Last season was difficult for me. I didn’t really have any good performances, so I changed my training a bit in the summer and worked really hard to get back into medal contention. Up until now this season, I didn’t have a race that proved I was back, but I knew it from my training that I was. I just wanted so bad to prove it, and today I did just that, and it was very relieving.”

Ted-Jan Bloemen

Friday also saw Maltais (La Baie, Que.) continue her strong start to the World Cup season by earning a second 3000m medal in as many weekends.

Paired up with teammate Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.) in second last pair, the 35-year-old Maltais posted a new personal best time of 3:56.45 to bring home bronze, adding to the silver she won last weekend in Salt Lake City. Dutch skater Joy Beune brought home gold (3:54.42), while Norway’s Ragne Wiklund took silver (3:55.25).

“I didn’t even realize it was a personal best until somebody told me! I think that somehow this race feels more like a success and I’m kind of enjoying it more. I wanted to be on the podium again, but my focus was again on my process and how I wanted to race the race. To execute the race that I wanted to, and do have a performance like I did today, makes me proud. I felt that I was really focusing on what I was doing, knowing that I was paired with Isabelle and she was coming on strong at the end. I wanted to make sure I still had energy at the end to be able to fight, which I did.”

Valérie Maltais

Weidemann, meanwhile, made an impressive comeback to put herself in podium contention. The 30-year-old was in tenth-place midway through the race but picked up the speed and tracked down to finish the distance in 3:56.66, falling just shy of the podium in fourth place.

“I’ve been really happy with how racing has been going the last two weekends. A little bit slow at the start still, but the last three laps I feel that I’m coming into my own and can start chasing down my competitors a little bit. It’s nice to go to the line and race somebody you know, because you’re both rooting for each other. I know how Valerie [Maltais] skates but we’re still in our own lanes and competing out there. But I’m stocked to see her get onto the podium.”

Isabelle Weidemann

Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.) joined Maltais and Weidemann in the 3000m top 10, finishing in eighth place with a time of 4:00.42. Béatrice Lamarche (Quebec City, Que.) managed a respectable sixth-place finish in the women’s 1000m (1:13.54) just one week after earning bronze in the distance in Salt Lake City for her first career individual distance podium.

The ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Calgary continues Saturday with the men’s and women’s 500m and 1500m. Races will be live streamed on CBC Sport and Radio-Canada Sports digital platforms starting at 2:30pm MT, while television coverage on CBC will kick-off at 3:30pm MT.

Don’t miss your chance to experience the mind-blowing speed and cheer on Canada’s very best in person, with ticketing options are available for both die-hard and casual fans. General Admission tickets start at $15 for kids and $20 for adults, while Premium Tickets can be purchased for only $40.

Visit www.speedskating.ca/calgary2025 for more information.

Results

Women’s 1000m

Béatrice Lamarche: 6th
Alexa Scott: 16th
Brooklyn McDougall: 14th (Division B)
Maddison Pearman: 21st (Division B)
Rose Laliberté-Roy: 26th (Division B)

Men’s 1000m

Laurent Dubreuil: 20th
Anders Johnson: 7th (Division B)
Yankun Zhao: 10th (Division B)
Tyson Langelaar: 29th (Division B)

Women’s 3000m

Valérie Maltais: 3rd
Isabelle Weidemann: 4th
Ivanie Blondin: 8th
Laura Hall: 16th
Abigail McCluskey: 24th (Division B)

Men’s 5000m

Ted-Jan Bloemen: 3rd
Graeme Fish: 17th (Division B)
Daniel Hall: 18th (Division B)
Jake Weidemann: 28th (Division B)
Max Halyk: 37th (Division B)