Canadian Olympic star Ted-Jan Bloemen returns to podium

HAMAR, Norway — Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloemen earned a bronze medal in World Cup speedskating action on Friday.

The Calgary-based skater finished third in the 5,000 metres for his first medal of the season.

Sverre Lunde Pederson of host Norway won gold, while Alexander Rumyantsev of Russia captured silver.

Bloemen won silver in the 5,000 and gold in the 10,000 at the Pyeongchang Olympics, but hadn’t hit the podium since the Winter Games.

“It seems that I’m back,” Bloemen said with a laugh following his race. “I’m really happy to be back on the podium.

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“I’ve worked really hard and put in a lot of training since the last World Cup and this was a bit of a test race to see what the results of that training were. It’s a big step in the right direction.”

Toronto’s Jordan Belchos finished a season-best sixth in the 5,000.

Meanwhile, Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann came sixth and seventh, respectively, in the women’s 3,000 metres.

“I think today was actually really positive,” said Blondin. “I was able to fight through this race and show what I was capable of.

“A sixth-place finish a week before the world championships is good. I have some things to work on, but I’m not too far off. Given we still have one week to prepare, I think I’m headed in the right direction.”

Ten Canadians skate on the second day of the World Cup on Saturday.

The Canadian Press