The Winter Olympics Milano Cortina 2026 witnessed one of its most iconic moments on Monday, as Jutta Leerdam broke the Olympic record to claim gold in the women’s 1,000-meter speed skating. Following her historic victory, her fiance, YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul, shared a deeply emotional tribute to the Dutch star.
Leerdam entered the ice knowing the stakes were incredibly high. Her teammate Femke Kok had just delivered a stunning performance with a time of 1:12.59, briefly setting a new Olympic record. That mark had surpassed the previous record of 1:13.19 established by Japan’s Miho Takagi during the 2022 Beijing Games.
However, Leerdam produced a career-defining skate, clocking in at 1:12.31 to overtake her compatriot, secure the gold, and etch her name into the Olympic record books.
Immediately following the win, Paul took to his social media accounts to praise his fiance. “Juttttttttttaaaaaaaa. I can’t stop crying. You did it my love. Olympic Gold. God is great and so are you,” he wrote in an initial post. He followed it up with another emotional message: “We just witnessed one of the most important sporting moments ever. The doc will tell. Words can’t describe how proud of you I am”.
Jake Paul celebrates in the stands after his fiancee Jutta Leerdam wins Gold. (Getty Images)
Leerdam will now turn her attention to February 15, where she is scheduled to compete in the 500-meter event, seeking to add another gold to the Netherlands’ medal tally.
Leerdam on achieving her dream
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The road to gold was anything but easy. Leerdam faced the immense challenge of skating in the final pair against the defending champion, Takagi. Furthermore, seeing her own teammate break the record just minutes before her start added a layer of psychological pressure that many would find overwhelming.
“Everyone saw how hard of a position I had in the last pair, after a super good time. For everyone, it was surreal,“ Leerdam said, according to AP News. “It feels amazing. Just like the cherry on top of my career, basically. It’s perfect“.
The Dutch champion admitted that while Kok’s time was intimidating, it served as fuel. “Femke’s time was super fast. It gave me some pressure,” Leerdam said, according to The Sun. “I tried to use the pressure to my advantage and let it make me even sharper than normal. I do not think I ever felt as much pressure as in this race. But, on the other hand, I thrive off pressure. I always perform better under pressure”.
