Canadian speed skater Bloemen places 3rd in men's 5,000
Calgary resident trims nearly 3 seconds off time from recent Nagano event
Ted-Jan Bloemen is headed in the right direction after a disappointing 12th-place finish two weeks ago at a long track speed skating competition in Japan.
The Calgary resident shaved nearly three seconds off his time from that event at Friday's World Cup event in Astana Kazakhstan, clocking six minutes 22.82 seconds in the men's 5,000 metres to finish third.
"I'm not able to skate up to my potential right now, and that's very frustrating," Bloemen told reporters after the recent event in Nagano. "I have two weeks to get back on track."
Peter Michael of New Zealand won Friday's race in 6:21.58 while Germany's Patrick Beckert finished second.
Bloemen, 30, also finished eighth in the 5,000 (6:29.81) at the first stage of the World Cup season in Harbin, China on Nov. 11.
In September, Bloemen lowered his Canadian record time in the 5,000, stopping the clock in 6:11.64 at the Olympic Oval Fall Classic in Calgary on Saturday.
He also shattered the world record in the 10,000 last year on the way to be named long track male athlete of the year by Speed Skating Canada.