Ted-Jan Bloemen ends world allround championships in 5th

Canada's Ted-Jan Bloemen used his prowess in the 10,000 metres to improve to a fifth-place finish on the final day at the speed skating world allround championships Sunday. 

The current long distance world record holder sat in seventh after the opening day of competition, but a 13th in the 1,500m and a fifth in the 10,000m earned Bloemen a top-five result, which represents the best performance by a Canadian male skater since Denny Morrison in 2006.

"After my slow 500m that put me in 21st place [on Saturday], it's pretty cool that I still managed finishing fifth overall," Bloemen said. "But these weren't my best races. I'm looking to do even better in the future. It's cool that this is the best Canadian performance in a while, but there's more to come!"

Sven Kramer of the Netherlands won his record-extending eighth title while Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic clinched her fourth.

Kramer won the men's 10,000m in a track record 13 minutes, 7.19 seconds, beating compatriot Jan Blokhuijsen by 3.73 and Norway's Sverre Lunde Pedersen by 4.64.

"It's also nice when it's a tight battle, but when it's boring I know that I've done very well", Bloemen said. 

Kramer was earlier third in the 1,500 — 0.81 behind Pedersen, who won in 1:46.24. Poland's Konrad Niedzwiedzki was second, 0.60 behind.

Defending champion Sablikova also set a track record, winning the 5,000 in 6:52.57, beating Dutch skaters Ireen Wust, Antoinette de Jong and Linda de Vries.

Wust captured the women's 1,500 in 1:54.83, edging Sablikova by 0.61 seconds and de Vries by 2.21.

Sablikova claimed her previous allround titles in 2009, 2010 and 2015.

Canada's Ivanie Blondin missed the cut for the women's 5,000 after a 18th-place result in the 1,500. Blondin finished the weekend 16th overall. 

"I knew I wasn't at my best physically, so I was mostly aiming to have fun today. I therefore focused on the positives and on savouring the moment," Blondin said. "Sometimes, you have to go through big losses to find your way towards achieving great accomplishments. I will keep this experience in mind when I train this summer, and will use it as motivation for the future."