Page 18 - ARUBA TODAY

A18 SPORTS
Friday 16 February 2018
Ted-Jan Bloemen ends Dutch

dominance at the Olympic Oval

By RAF CASERT most craves. Missing power at the two-kilometer he
GANGNEUNG, South Korea and pace, Kramer slumped was already three seconds
(AP) — The roots of Ted-Jan to sixth, well behind surprise within the Olympic-record
Bloemen will have many bronze medalist Nicola Tu- pace Bergsma had set just
saying his Olympic gold molero of Italy. before him. He maintained
medal in speedskating is at Unable to get on the Dutch the lead for much of the
least part Dutch. team for the 2014 Sochi time but he briefly could
Forget it. His recipe for vic- Games, Bloemen need- not match Bergsma's pace
tory in the 10,000 meters ed to change everything with five laps to go.
was as Canadian as maple around. At 27, he was ill- Somehow, though, his Ca-
syrup. disciplined and could not nadian preparations paid
"Everything changed for find his way in the ultra- golden dividends and Bloe-
me," Bloemen said of his competitive world of Dutch men went into overdrive to
move to North America. speedskating. secure the victory.
"I had a whole different His father was born in New Arms wide open, his smile
country, different conti- Brunswick, Canada, and at its widest, Bloemen
nent, different culture, dif- with little to lose he tried the clenched his fists as he
ferent team around me, last option he could think of crossed the line. His time
different coach." and became a member of of 12 minutes, 39.77 sec-
Bloemen finally broke the the Canadian team. onds beat Bergsma by 2.21
Dutch hold on the top Settling near Calgary, he seconds. Tumolero earned
step of the podium at the found what he needed. bronze in 12:54.32.
oval on Day 6 of the Py- "I got married. There's so He still had to wait for Kram-
eongchang Games with a many things that changed," er, though, a man with the
race that not only brought Bloemen said. "It made for ability to chase anyone
him the Olympic record, a really great combination and everyone down. The
but also total vindication where I've been feeling re- only time he has not is in
of his decision to leave the ally happy and grateful." the Olympic 10,000.
Netherlands. He even became more dis- Thursday was no different,
Defending champion Jor- ciplined, a key ingredient in even if he had already
Gold medallist Ted-Jan Bloemen of Canada celebrates with the rit Bergsma took silver and the grueling world of long- won the 5,000 at the Py-
national flag after the men's 10,000 meters speedskating race Dutch teammate Sven distance skating, where the eongchang Games.
at the Gangneung Oval at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gang-
neung, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. Kramer again failed to win origins of a strong final lap With two kilometers to go in
Associated Press the one Olympic race he can sometimes be found in Kramer’s race, Bloemen’s
summer training half a year coach, Bart Schouten, held
earlier. his skater in a warm em-
It showed in his race on brace, knowing not even
Thursday. Bloemen set off the Dutch great could re-
at a blistering pace, and cover from such a deficit.q

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