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Canada's Ted-Jan Bloemen competes in the speed skating men's 5000m during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Speed Skating Stadium in Milan on February 8, 2026. Photo by DANIEL MUNOZ /AFP via Getty ImagesArticle contentMILAN — Last month, Canadian speedskater Ted-Jan Bloemen posted an advertisement on Facebook, announcing he was selling some of his memorabilia from the 2022 Beijing Games. His made clear his goal: “Support my journey to the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics by buying this Lululemon kit from the previous Winter Olympics.”

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On Sunday, he offered clarification.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, ortap here to see other videos from our team.Play VideoArticle content document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { const template = document.getElementById('oop-ad-template'); if (template && !template.dataset.adInjected) { const clone = template.content.cloneNode(true); template.replaceWith(clone); if (template.parentElement) { template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected = "true"; } } });Article content“I didn’t have to do that. I wanted to do that,” Bloemen said. “I sold my gear from the Beijing Olympics, which, every time I had it in my hands, it wasn’t the greatest memory.

“So, for me, it wasn’t a big loss to sell it.”

After a moment inside the interview area at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, a reporter asked if he would plan to sell his gear from these current Games.

“I don’t know yet,” he said with a chuckle.

The 39-year-old had just placed 13th in the men’s 5,000-metre race in Milan, a disappointing result for an athlete who won silver in that category in PyeongChang in 2018. Four years ago, in Beijing, he finished 10th.

Bloemen started Sunday’s race in a strong position, drawing gasps from the crowd as he edged toward the new Olympic record that had just been set by Norwegian Sander Eitrem. By mid-race, Bloemen had slipped to eighth, and then ninth.

By the end, the veteran could not maintain the pace.

“I really don’t know what to say, he said. “We’ve prepared the best we could.”

He said he realized the race was “lost” in the second half.

13 seconds in Cortina: On the mountain where Lindsey Vonn's comeback met its end Finland held an Olympic hockey practice in Milan. He's the only one who showed up. Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});Article contentBloemen had recently known some ups and downs. Last season, he did not manage to finish on the podium at the World Cup or the World Championships. But just last November, he finished third at the World Cup in Calgary, where he lives with his family.

“At that point, I was really good,” he said of his race in November. “I think that was maybe the best race of my life. But that’s a couple months ago, right?”

Bloemen said could not find that same speed and endurance on Sunday.

“I tried to put together a plan for this season so that I was going to be in the best shape of my life at this moment. And, for some reason, I hadn’t figured out yet I wasn’t,” he said.

“So, that’s unfortunate.”

After he listed his 2022 Olympic gear for sale, the news made its way to officials at Corona Cero, an Olympic sponsor, who offered Bloemen a $20,000 cheque to help him financially.

At the time, a spokeswoman for Labatt Breweries of Canada said: “To see an athlete who is selling their best memories, that are their golden moments in order to go with their family to the Olympics didn’t sit right with us. We didn’t want him to have to give that up.”

On Sunday, he suggested that, yes, he appreciated the money.

“This has been an expensive year. So, yeah, I wanted to make up a little bit for the deficit, but we were always going to be able to afford this season,” he said.

His wife was spotted in the stands on Sunday drinking a Corona Cero.

Bloemen said it has been “really special” having his young children, who are six and three years old, see their father race at the Olympics. But what he is most proud of is to be able to show his children the importance of perseverance and of never giving up a fight.

“I skated with my head held high, and I gave myself an opportunity, and I fought for every last centimeter there out there.”

Bloemen will have an opportunity to race again, this time, for the 10,000-metre on Friday. Until then, he said he would regroup and rest to be able to go “full steam ahead” for that moment.

Sunday’s result was still a bittersweet moment for the man who plans to hang his skates after these Games.

“This was maybe, maybe my last 5k and, yeah, this is what I had.”

— with files from Devika Desai.

National Post calevesque@postmedia.com

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