BLOEMEN IN PEAK FORM
Canadian expected to land on Olympic podium, battle Dutch star Sven Kramer for gold
Is Ted-Jan Bloemen happier than ever because he has never skated faster than this in his entire life? Or is the 31-year-old clocking his best times because he’s never been happier?
You could go around and around on the topic, which is what speed skaters do.
“I think most of my success is really because I have such a great team and a great staff around me,” the transplanted Dutchman said in mid-January. “I’ve always been the same person, but after I moved here and became part of this team, that’s when I suddenly started making a huge progression.
“Also what I think is really important is how happy you are. Just where I am now, living here with my wife and being part of this team, has all been contributing to that. I was suddenly happier than I was ever before. So that’s also something that changed for me. It’s really hard to say how much everything contributed.”
It’s less difficult to quantify his improvement since arriving in Calgary from The Netherlands in June 2014. Because they have been massive.
His father, Gerhard-Jan, was born in New Brunswick, and Ted turned dual citizenship into a revitalized career after stalling out at home. He has won 16 World Cup medals since making the jump, he broke the 10,000-metre world record in 2015, and the 5,000-metre mark fell earlier this season.
“I really felt that I hit a dead end in Holland and I wasn’t going to get any better there. So I wanted to do something completely different or just quit speed skating and I didn’t want to do that. I love it so much still. All I cared about was skating fast. I didn’t have any concerns because I wasn’t going to skate fast in Holland. It could only get better.”
But he still had some adjustments to make to life in Canada, to working in a new training group with a new coach, Bart Schouten. He said Bloemen instantly made the group better. Ben Donnelly, one of the group’s skaters, concurs.
“Even on his off-days, if he does something, it’s to make sure his skating is better, or that he’ll be perfect for skating the next day. You can tell he has a love and passion for it. It’s really good for me to be training with him.
“It’s a really big motivator to train with a guy who is so positive and has so much love for the sport.”
Bloemen’s dream season, which includes five World Cup medals — a gold, three silvers and a bronze — hits a crescendo this month with a trip to Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he shows up as a podium favourite in his first Olympics.
“It’s really exciting. I’m just trying to stay calm now. I’ve had a really good season up to now and I feel really strong on the ice. I’m definitely better than I ever was. But I didn’t win anything yet. The big race is still to come. I’ve just got to stay cool and keep doing what I’m doing and make sure I do my best races at the Olympics.”
He’ll need them to beat Holland’s decorated team leader Sven Kramer. They don’t know one another well, and were never on the Dutch national team together, though they are the same age. Bloemen has a healthy respect for Kramer’s longevity and laundry list of achievements, which includes seven Olympic medals and 19 world championship gold.
“That’s pretty amazing. I’m the same age as Sven Kramer and I haven’t been winning races for 10 years, so I’m not going to have a successful career as long as his. But you do the best you can and we’ll see how long I want to keep going.”
They will be properly cast as rivals for gold and silver in Korea, and Schouten said the rivalry will bring out the best in his athlete.
“I think what Sven brings is he’s been consistently the best skater over 10 years. That’s what makes him special. That’s what makes him special to beat. You always want to beat the best. So yeah, Ted would like to beat Sven.”
It hasn’t happened this year, despite Bloemen’s improvements. Kramer wasn’t at the World Cup in Salt Lake City where Bloemen set the 5,000-metre record.
“The world record may add a little bit of pressure (for Bloemen) but Sven Kramer has beaten him in both those events head to head this year,” said Schouten. “So whenever they raced this year Sven Kramer turned out the faster racer so I think most of the pressure should be with Sven.”
Indeed, Bloemen doesn’t sound like he’s carrying a burden. More like a weapon.
“I’ve done those races. I know that it’s in me,” he said of the records. “So I know that if I do the best I can, it’s pretty good. That’s definitely helping, if you use it to help you. You can also use it to make yourself nervous and to put pressure on yourself. I’m just trying to use it in a positive way.”
Most signs, on and off the ice, are pointing up. He’s happily married to Marlinde Kraaijeveld, who was his girlfriend in The Netherlands. And despite his devotion to the sport, he has found a happy work/ life balance. He credits his wife.
“That’s something she really taught me. You can’t live like a robot. You can’t just train, eat, sleep and that’s it. You need to have fun while you’re doing it, otherwise you’re just going to get bored of it, motivation will be gone and you won’t be getting the most out of yourself. She is definitely helping with that.”
He’s still intense and passionate about skating, but at the right times. He’s also two years removed from a leg injury that set him back.
“Last year we pushed it too hard in training every now and then, so the season was more up and down, but he won World Cup events,” said Schouten. “I think what’s happened this year is we’ve trained better and found a good balance between training very, very hard but not too hard. I think we’ve done the right thing this year.
“For the first time in a couple years he’s now conditionally actually stronger than he’s ever been.
“When we test him on the bike, he’s better than ever. And his skating technique is better than ever.”
And Bloemen is happy to tell you that his life is simply better than ever.