The Netherlands’ Jutta Leerdam won gold in the 1,000m speed skating on Sunday, setting a new Olympic record as the Dutch sealed the top two spots on the podium.
Leerdam, twice a world champion, was in the final pair to skate and had already seen teammate Femke Kok set a new Olympic benchmark of 1:12.59 to go into the provisional gold medal position.
But Leerdam produced a stunning race, clocking just over 26 seconds for one lap, and shaving nearly three-tenths of a second off the record to win gold in 1:12.31.
Her opponent in that race was defending champion Tigaki Miho, Japan’s most decorated female Olympian, who skated nearly a full second slower in the Beijing 2022 final to beat Leerdam into second place.
This time Miho ran a fine race but was forced to settle for bronze, with 2025 world champion Kok taking silver.
This marked the Netherlands’ first gold of the Games, with a huge orange-clad crowd cheering her on in Milan.
Leerdam collapsed against the barrier after her win, sobbing, and blew kisses to her fiancé, internet personality and boxer Jake Paul, who was also in tears watching in the stands.
Team GB’s Ellia Smeding finished 11th of 30 competitors, 3.52 seconds off Leerdam’s time.
