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Netherlands' Jutta Leerdam reacts after winning gold in the speed skating women's 1000m during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Getty ImagesArticle contentMILAN — The sea of orange, all Dutch fans, present in the Milano Speed Skating Stadium already was pumped to see their country finally win a medal in speedskating, a sport it excels at. And their country’s big star, Jutta Leerdam, was just the one to do it.

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But what got people talking about the 1,000-metre race before it had even started on Monday was the fact that her fiancé, American influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul, was in attendance.

Article content document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { const template = document.getElementById('oop-ad-template'); if (template && !template.dataset.adInjected) { const clone = template.content.cloneNode(true); template.replaceWith(clone); if (template.parentElement) { template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected = "true"; } } });Article contentPaul had been seen at an Olympic women’s hockey game with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Saturday. The influencer also has been criticized for calling the NFL Super Bowl’s halftime show headliner, Bad Bunny, a “fake American” but seemingly backtracked on Monday.

Paul appeared at practice to support Leerdam, with whom he has been engaged since March 2025. The Dutch athlete was making her first start in Milano-Cortina after winning silver in that same event in Beijing. She is also a six-time world champion.

“Today is your day baby,” he wrote on X. “You’ve worked your whole life for this.”

After the start of the race — which was divided in 15 heats — Leerdam appeared in the inside rink to warm up before her turn and got some loud cheers from the crowd.

When it was her turn to race in the final heat, the orange crowd roared with anticipation.

Leerdam won the gold medal, beating the Olympic record that her Dutch colleague, Femke Kok, had set just minutes prior. Paul could be seen in the crowd, crying, as his videographer filmed him. On the ice, Leerdam stopped near him to blow him a kiss.

we just witnessed one of the most important sporting moments ever. the doc will tell. words cant describe how proud of you i am. pic.twitter.com/yfoM5OA4Ef

“Juttttttttttaaaaaaaa. I can’t stop crying. You did it my love. Olympic Gold. God is great and so are you,” Paul wrote on X after her win.

Meet 11 of the hottest Olympians at the 2026 Winter Games in Milano-Cortina Why William Dandjinou is the Canadian man to watch in speedskating Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});Article contentHer makeup was running. She had been crying too.

After the medal ceremony, cheers erupted from the Olympic Family Lounge where Leerdam had reunited with her fiancé. Two dozen photographers were huddled near the door of the lounge, trying to get a glimpse of the couple as soon as the door cracked open.

Paul shared a picture of him in the lounge area holding Leerdam in his arms, as she is seen smiling and biting her gold medal. “We just witnessed one of the most important sporting moments ever,” he wrote. “Words can’t describe how proud of you I am.”

Boxer Jake Paul celebrates in the stands after his fiancee Jutta Leerdam of Team Netherlands wins Gold after breaking the Olympic record in the Speed Skating Women’s 1000m. Getty ImagesArticle contentThen came the time for multiple television interviews, followed by the press agencies.

“It’s unreal. It’s amazing,” Leerdam said of her win. “It is the cherry on top of my career.”

Paul suddenly appeared in the middle of an interview, interrupting it to take his fiancé by the shoulders and give her a kiss. Then, he left by the back door with his entire crew.

Leerdam faced the last horde of 30 or so reporters who had been patiently waiting.

“Yeah, it was pretty cute,” she said.

Is Paul always like that?

“Not really, but at the same time, he also knows the pressure I felt and the build-up and everything. So, yeah, I think he’s just felt everything with me.”

“He is definitely emotionally involved,” she added. “For everyone, it was extra real.”

Canadian speedskater Béatrice Lamarche, who finished fifth in the race, said she was happy for Leerdam’s win and glad that she has been giving so much visibility to their sport.

“She’s always so nice to the people around her. I have only good words for her.”

Did Lamarche also wish her romantic partner was an influencer, like Paul?

“I like my boyfriend as he is,” Lamarche said.

calevesque@postmedia.com

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