Bloemen approaches world record on Day 2 of long track World Cup trials
Hudey, Weidemann set personal bests at Calgary event
Ted-Jan Bloemen continued his strong long track World Cup trials on Friday, recording the second-best 10,000-metre time ever.
At 12:46.83 minutes, Bloemen finished just under 11 seconds behind his own world record of 12:36.30, set in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2015.
"I think I've already shown this season that I'm in better shape than ever," said Bloemen. "And that's the case even though I wasn't super rested this weekend, I have a little bit of a cold lingering and my lungs were hurting so bad. So those 11 seconds, that's where they went."
His time is also the ninth fastest at the international level in the 10,000m distance, in addition to being a new track record at Calgary's Olympic Oval, previously set by Dutch skater Sven Kramer at 12:51.60 in 2006.
Jordan Belchos, 28, of Markham, Ont., finished second in the race with a time of 13:12.12. Graeme Fish, 20, from Moose Jaw, Sask., skated to third place in 13:22.23.
Hudey, Weidemann set personal bests
27-year-old Marsha Hudey narrowly achieved a personal best in the 500m with a time of 37.30 seconds. Her previous personal best was only .24 seconds slower.
"I've been skating really well in practice and I've been able to put everything into the race today," said Hudey. "I'm very happy with that and that's all I could have done today."
Heather McLean, the 24-year-old from Winnipeg finished in second with a time of 37.37. Right behind her in third was Kaylin Irvine, 27, of Calgary, with a time of 38.43.
Only the top three skaters met the time criteria of 38.43 seconds in this event that makes them eligible for selection in this distance on the Canadian team that will skate at the Fall World Cups, as Canada will have a maximum of four spots.
In the women's 5000m event, Isabelle Weidemann, 22, of Ottawa, recorded a personal best of 6:57.84 minutes.
"I went in today trying to hit a specific lap time. That's not usually how I race. I usually race according to how I'm feeling," said Weidemann. "I'm really happy that I was able to hit those lap times. It's my second time under seven minutes and I'm pretty stoked."
Behind Weidemann were Victoria Spence and Josie Morrison, both from Kamloops, B.C. Their times were 7:10.78 and 7:12.56, respectively.
All three skaters qualified for the event in the Fall World Cups, along with Ivanie Blondin, 27, from Ottawa, who was pre-qualified.
Boisvert-Lacroix ready to roll
After missing the podium altogether last winter, Alex Boisvert-Lacroix, of Sherbrooke, Que., began his season strong, winning the men's 500m in 34.39 seconds.
"Last winter, things didn't go like I wanted," said the 30-year-old athlete. "I had problems with my blades early on and it was hard to bounce back from that. But today is a new day. Time for a fresh start."
William Dutton, 27, from Humbold, Sask., finished just three hundredths of a second behind Boisvert-Lacroix. Calgary native Gilmore Junio, 27, came in third at 34.56.
Aside from those three, 25-year-old Laurent Dubreuil (34.58) from Lévis, Que., and 24-year-old Alexandre St-Jean (34.89) from Quebec City, Que., also met the time criteria of 35.09 seconds for the Fall World Cups.