Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam was visibly shaken on Friday after she fell during the 1000m event at the Olympic Trials, leaving her in tears. This incident has cast doubt on Italy’s prospects for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games.
Leerdam previously earned a silver medal in the same 1000m event during the 2022 Beijing Games. She stated, “I lost my balance and slipped onto the board.” Reports indicate that her fiancé, former YouTuber and now boxer Jake Paul, was watching from the second curve at Thialf in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
“I’ve been skating really well in practice. I could have easily skated today just like those kids are skating here,” expressed the 26-year-old Leerdam.
In fact, she mentioned, “I’ve skated 1:14 here 25 times, and I feel even better now than I have in the past two years.”
On a brighter note, her teammates Femke Koch and Suzanne Schulting successfully qualified for the upcoming Olympics, finishing their races in 1:14.08 and 1:14.71, respectively.
The national selection committee now faces the task of deciding if Leerdam will compete in the Winter Olympics, with a decision expected by early January.
In a subsequent event on Sunday, Leerdam bounced back, securing second place in the 500m heats, according to reports from the Daily Mail.
This came right after another significant win for her earlier this month at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in the 1000m category.
Leerdam’s year has also been quite special on a personal level; she got engaged to Paul in March, announcing their exciting news on Instagram with, “We can’t wait to spend forever together.” The pair has been together since 2022.
Paul attended the trials just days after a high-profile victory in Miami where he knocked out Anthony Joshua in the sixth round, despite suffering injuries.
Reflecting on the fight, Paul remarked, “I’m feeling good. It was fun. I love this sport and it was a lot of fun.” Interestingly, he also recently shared that he has “baby fever.”
The 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to begin on February 6.
