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She's a sports celebrity and is in a relationship with another famous personality. But when her big day came, she handled the immense pressure and expectations. She crossed the finish line, unzipped her suit, and started to cry… She knew she had won gold.
That gesture often provokes a reaction. Under her orange speed skating suit, she hides curves that, thanks to social media, are sometimes more visible than her results. This, too, is part of the Jutta project. When she unzips her suit and lets down her long blonde hair, the photographers' shutters start clicking. For many, she's a superwoman, a sports Barbie.
She even has her own Ken, who came to support her this time. American influencer and, lately, enthusiastic boxer Jake Paul didn't miss her Olympic race. And if you've never seen this wild giant cry, you had the chance right after the women's 1000-meter speed skating event finished.
But things got off to a somewhat rocky start. Leerdam's unique style and attitude were on display both on her way to the Olympics and before the race itself.
"Her behaviour seems terrible to me. She acts like a diva. If I were her coach, I wouldn't tolerate it. The whole of the Netherlands is starting to get a bit tired of her story," commented 77-year-old football journalist Johan Derksen about the private jet snapshots, where the athlete flaunted her luxury.
After arriving in Milan, she promised Dutch media she would come for an interview. In the end, she kept them waiting for an hour and then said she'd only speak after her race. Maybe that was her answer to the criticism from Derksen…
"It's time to shine," Jake Paul replied on his Instagram. With 30 million followers, Instagram is often a more powerful medium today than the work of journalists themselves.
Revenge for Beijing
That evening in Milan, the atmosphere was as if the footballing Oranjes were playing a match. The arena, with a capacity of 7,000, was packed, and most fans wore the iconic Dutch colour. But people didn't come just for Jutta.
The first hero of the night for the crowd was Femke Kok, who faced off against American world record holder Brittany Bowe and, with a time of 1:12.59, took the lead. At that moment, it was an Olympic record, sparking the first wave of celebrations in the stands.
But the highlight of the evening was still to come. Last to the starting line were Leerdam and the defending Olympic champion from Beijing four years ago, Miho Takagi. The Dutch diva left nothing to chance. At the 600-meter mark, she had the fastest split, and she crossed the finish line in 1:12.31. In an instant, the Olympic record was broken again.
"I knew that if I started to feel tired during the race, I couldn't let it get to me. I kept telling myself: 'You'll have 80 years to recover from this!' I didn't want to live with regret, so I just went for it, fought so hard," Leerdam said to the cameras after her gold-medal race. Was she hinting that her mission is complete?
Gold in Milan was redemption. After all, in Beijing 2022, she finished second, right behind Takagi. This time, against the same rival, she rewrote the story in her favour. "Right now, I feel amazement, surprise, exhaustion, and a flood of emotions," she admitted.
The birth of an icon
Leerdam started out as a hockey player, but then put down her stick and, from her junior years, was already a big hope for Dutch speed skating. She won youth championships, and at 19, she received an offer to turn professional and accepted it. At first, it was supposed to be temporary, but perhaps it was forever - she put her studies at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences on hold. Sports took priority.
"Even before that, I was training twice a day, before school and then again in the afternoon. Now, everything revolves around skating. Usually, I train, eat, and sleep, and then do it all over again," she told Schaatsen at the start of her career.
The plan worked. She collected gold medals at European and world championships as if on a conveyor belt, specialising in sprint and 1000-metre races, winning 13 in total. But with success also came personal scandals.
One big topic in the Netherlands was her relationship with Olympic champion Koen Verweij, who won four medals for his country on the ice, including gold at Sochi 2014. The two were a couple for seven years, and during that time, they started their own team because it made it easier to attract sponsors. Their life together was even documented in the film 'Koen & Jutta: All or Nothing'.
It ended rather dramatically, reportedly due to infidelity. But Verweij now says they remain friends and support each other. "Honestly, I hope she wins gold. It would be fantastic for her. We spent so many years together, and naturally, you want her to be the best," he said before the Olympics.
In fact, these days, he cheers her on from the sidelines and defends her in the media controversy: "In the Netherlands, most people drive a Volkswagen Golf. And if you drive a Ferrari, people don't trust you much. I think we need to learn to accept that. That's what sports heroes are for."
Only the World Record Remains
After the Olympics in Milan, Jutta Leerdam will likely have to decide what comes next in her career. She's 27, at the peak of her powers, and has achieved almost everything. Retiring at the top would make sense, especially since she's engaged to Jake Paul and they've already discussed having children.
The only thing missing is the world record, which Brittany Bowe has held for seven years with a time of 1:11.61. This year, Jutta will have one more chance - at the World Championships in March, held in Heerenveen, her home country.
