At the Milano Speed Skating Stadium on Monday, Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam finally ascended the top step of the Olympic podium, winning gold in the women’s 1,000-meter race with a commanding new Olympic record.
While Leerdam’s athletic triumph was the centerpiece, her fiancé, the American influencer and boxer Jake Paul, watching intently from a second-row seat, became an inseparable part of the story.
Leerdam, the 2022 Olympic silver medalist, captured her first career gold with a blistering time of 1:12.31, breaking the Olympic record that had been set just minutes earlier by her own teammate, Femke Kok.
The powerful performance in the final pairing of the day capped years of dedication. “Today is your day baby,” Paul wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post just hours before the race. “You’ve worked your whole life for this. We all love and support you so much”.
Visibly overcome after crossing the line, Leerdam glided to a soft barrier, collapsed across it, and wept tears of joy as her eyeliner streaked down her cheeks. Kok took silver, while Japan’s Miho Takagi claimed bronze.
From the stands, Paul was a picture of support, draped in an orange scarf, the color of the Dutch team. He chose to remain out of the media spotlight, walking past reporters without comment.
His presence in Milan has nonetheless been high-profile.
Earlier in the Games, he was seen sitting with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, watching a U.S. women’s hockey game and applauding goals together.
Paul’s attendance at the Olympics has been interwoven with his own outspoken social media commentary, where he recently criticized American Olympians for expressing political views and sparked a public disagreement with his brother, Logan, over comments about Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny.
Leerdam’s path to gold was not without its pre-Games controversies. The Dutch champion faced public criticism in her home country for traveling to Milan by private jet and opting to watch the opening ceremony from her hotel bed rather than march with teammates.
A prominent Dutch pundit labeled her behavior “that of a diva,” a sentiment he claimed was growing in the Netherlands.
Leerdam has long sought to be recognized primarily for her athletic prowess. “The last thing I want is being known as the girl from Instagram,” she has said. “I want to be known as the girl who is a world-class skater, and is a winner”.
With her first Olympic gold secured, Leerdam’s remarkable career, which includes six world championship gold medals, is now complete. She is scheduled to compete again in the women’s 500-meter race next Sunday.
