Team Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloemen closes another chapter on his ‘life’s work’

Ted-Jan Bloemen is leaving Milano Cortina 2026 with gold.

It’s not a gold medal, but it might be something even more meaningful, considering who gave it to him.

“My daughter came up to me and gave me a golden pin that she had gotten somewhere and she said ‘the other guys got a medal and you didn’t, and I want you to have a medal’.”

That moment took place earlier this week when Bloemen skated in the men’s 5000m long track speed skating event, placing 13th. It’s the third Olympic Winter Games for Bloemen but the first with his children in attendance. His daughter, Fiene, was born in 2019 followed by his son, Thias in 2022.

With his family watching on, the 39-year-old took part in what was the final race of his storied career on Friday, skating in the 10,000m event. Bloemen finished ninth with a time of 13:00.01.

Following both of his events at Milano Cortina 2026, Bloemen spoke about how he felt well prepared heading into them. But even the best plans can be difficult to pull off when not only racing against other competitors, but Father Time as well. Metoděj Jílek of Czechia, who is just 19-years-old, won the gold medal in the 10,000m.

“You saw how I paced my race and how I performed throughout the 25 laps, it was a really flat race and I fought every lap from lap nine on to keep going under 31 [seconds] but it just wouldn’t go faster. I couldn’t speed up even by a tenth [of a second], so all I could do was hang on for dear life and I did, and I never showed a moment of weakness. Every lap was low ones, low ones, low ones, low ones all the way to the end, so I’m really proud that at least I showed everything that I have today.”

Jílek posted a time of 12:33.43, just under three seconds shy of the Olympic record, to claim the gold. Vladimir Semirunniy of Poland won silver while 40-year-old Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands won bronze.

READ: Bloeman unable to return to 5000m Olympic podium but proud of fight he put in

It wasn’t just the medallists who took a celebratory lap after the event. Bloemen skated around the oval as well, waving to fans and blowing some kisses. He said he felt like he had to say goodbye and got to do it in a beautiful way.

“This was my life’s work and it’s over now. So, it’s a lot to process.”

“I thought I would be crying, but I am not. I think that is still going to come.”

While this may have been the final time Canadians get to watch Bloemen compete, his impact on long track speed skating in the country will likely be felt for a long time—especially since he said he wants to stay in the sport in another capacity, perhaps as a coach.

At PyeongChang 2018, Bloemen won gold in the 10,000m and silver in the 5000m, ending an 86-year Olympic medal drought for Canada in the longest events in men’s speed skating. In the 10,000m, Bloemen posted a time of 12:39.77, setting a then-Olympic record.

PyeongChang 2018 was the first of three Olympic Games for Bloemen. He finished eighth in the 10,000m at Beijing 2022 and 10th in the 5000m.

While many Canadians got to know Bloemen through his appearances at the Olympic Winter Games, the veteran skater has been a well known and respected figure on the international scene for well over a decade. He’s an eight-time medallist at the ISU World Single Distances Championships, which includes four podium finishes in the 10,000m, three in the team pursuit, and one in the 5000m.

While Bloemen has enjoyed a lot of success with Team Canada, he began his skating career with the Netherlands, where he was born in Leiderdorp. Bloemen spent eight years skating with the powerhouse Dutch program but, after not qualifying for Sochi 2014, made the decision to move to Canada, his father’s birth country.

Bloemen began skating with the Canadian squad during the 2014-15 season. The following season, he went on to break the 10,000m world record at an ISU World Cup event. Later, he won a 10,000m silver at the 2015 World Single Distances Championships, winning Canada’s first major international medal in the distance since Lake Placid 1932.

Milano Cortina 2026 may not have been the storybook ending Bloemen had dreamed of, but he showed his fight and will to compete throughout his races, something he’s glad his children got to see—in theory, at least.

“Yeah, it’s something that I want to show, but they don’t care,” laughed Bloemen. “They love me. And they love me still. Nothing has changed.”

Many Canadians are feeling the same way.