Bloemen wins 5,000m gold, sets track record on home ice at World Cup in Quebec City
Maltais of La Baie, Que., captures 1st career overall World Cup podium
Canadian long track speed skater Ted-Jan Bloemen captured gold on home ice with a record-setting performance on Friday in Quebec City.
The two-time Olympic medallist won the men's 5,000 metres with a track-record time of six minutes 13.87 seconds at the Centre de glaces Intact Assurance. Italy's Davide Ghiotto placed second in 6:17.18, just 0.38 seconds ahead of Norwegian bronze medallist Hallgeir Engebråten.
The 37-year-old Bloemen beat his previous mark of 6:16.16. He finished the World Cup campaign ranked second in the men's long distances standings with 291 points, trailing only Ghiotto (324).
The win marks Bloemen's third medal in the distance in as many weeks following bronze medals at last week's World Cup stop and the Four Continents Championships, both held at the Utah Olympic Oval near Salt Lake City. The Calgarian holds the national record with a time of 6:01.86.
WATCH l Bloemen wins gold in front of sold-out Quebec City crowd:
"When I started gaining on Ghiotto, everybody got so excited, and it was a great feeling," Bloemen said. "Winning bronze last weekend and gold this weekend is a good confirmation that my season plan is working.
"It gives a lot of confidence for world championships in two weeks and I'm really looking forward to it."
Moose Jaw, Sask., native Graeme Fish finished last in 16th place (6:43.41).
Valérie Maltais of La Baie, Que., also returned to the World Cup podium for the second straight week with another bronze in the women's 3,000m earlier on Friday.
Maltais edged Ottawa's Isabelle Weidemann by a mere 0.06 seconds with a time of 4:02.73, placing behind Dutch skaters Irene Schouten (4:01.11) and Joy Beune (4:02.62).
Fellow Canadian team pursuit teammate Ivanie Blondin of Ottawa was 11th out of the 16 skaters in 4:07.07.
Maltais won gold in the same event at the Four Continents Championships.
WATCH l Maltais earns bronze in home province:
"It's really special to race at home. I had great energy today during my race," Maltais said. "I wanted to start off quick and push the entire way through, and I'm happy I was able to follow that plan.
"My technique was surely a bit sloppy at the end, but I gave it my all and was happy with my performance, regardless of where I ended up finishing."
With the bronze medal, Maltais captured her first career overall World Cup podium after finishing third in the women's long distances with 249 points. Norway's Ragne Wiklund finished first with 300, ahead of Martina Sáblíková of the Czech Republic (260).
"Finishing third in the overall World Cup rankings is also quite special. I think it speaks a lot to my consistence this season," Maltais said. "I had good races and I had bad races, but even when I wasn't on the podium, I was close and always felt that I had it in me to reach it."
Twenty-nine Canadians representing seven provinces are competing in Quebec City, which is hosting its first World Cup since 1992.
Maltais and Blondin will compete in the women's mass start on Sunday, where they are ranked first and second in the standings, respectively.
The final World Cup stop will be followed by the world championships in Calgary (Feb. 15-18).
WATCH l Replay of Day 1 coverage:
With files from Speed Skating Canada
