Jutta Leerdam set a new Olympic record while leading The Netherlands to a 1-2 finish in 1000-meter speed skating on Monday.
With her fiancé, Jake Paul, watching in the stands, Leerdam skated in Monday’s final race against Japan’s Miho Takagi, who won the gold medal in the 1,000 meters at the 2022 Olympics. Near the race’s midpoint, both skaters were behind the pace of leader Femke Kok, Leerdam’s Dutch teammate.
Advertisement
But Leerdam pulled away from Takagi around the 600-meter mark and began to challenge Kok’s time. She crossed the finish line with a time of 1:12.31, besting Kok’s time of 1:12.59 and setting a new Olympic record in the process.
She did so while spurred on by Paul and an arena filled with Netherlands supporters clad in orange. Kok’s time was good for the silver medal, while Tagaki crossed the line at 1:13.95 to secure bronze.
The Olympic medal was the second for Leerdam, who won silver behind Takagi in Beijing. Leerdam is also a two-time world champion in the event.
The finish knocked U.S. skater and world-record holder Brittany Bowe off the podium and into fourth place. Bowe’s U.S. teammate, Erin Jackson, briefly held the fastest time at Monday’s final, but finished in sixth place.
Advertisement
Bowe set the world record in the event with a time of 1:11.61 in 2019 at the ISU World Cup in Salt Lake City in 2019, and it still stands today. She won bronze at the Beijing Games.
Jackson is a 500-meter specialist who began training for the 1,000 meters after Beijing. Jackson will seek to repeat her 500-meter gold medal performance from Beijing on Feb. 15.
Leave a Reply