Jutta Leerdam’s fiance Jake Paul was moved to tears by her victory while Team GB are still waiting for a first medal
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ou couldn’t move for orange jumpers and coats in Milan’s speed skating stadium on Monday. Even the king was wearing one. Many Dutch people live for this sport in winter, when their waterways can freeze over, making it often more convenient to skate than walk.
Femke Kok has won the last three world titles over 500m. In November she broke the world record over that distance. On Monday she lined up alongside the 1,000m world record-holder, the 37-year-old Brittany Bowe, leaving her trailing in her wake and broke the Olympic record for good measure. King Willem-Alexander pumped his fists like a madman.
Everybody’s favourite YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul was also in the stands, cheering on his fiancee Jutta Leerdam, who won 1,000m silver for the Netherlands in Beijing four years ago. She was last on the ice this time and down on Kok’s splits for the first couple of laps before storming back against Japan’s Miho Takagi. Leerdam emptied the tank and burst over the line, stripping Kok of her Olympic record and the gold in the process. The effort was exhausting. “I couldn’t really stand, I couldn’t really see, I couldn’t do anything,” Leerdam said.
