Jutta Leerdam

Jutta Monica Leerdam (; born 30 December 1998) is a Dutch speed skater specializing in long-track sprint events. She won the gold medal in the 1000 m event at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, setting an Olympic record. She also won the silver medal in the 500 m event at the 2026 Olympics, as well as the silver medal in the 1000 m at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Leerdam is the 2022 World Sprint Champion in the 500 and 1000 metres combined. In the 1000 metres, she is the 2020 and 2023 World Single Distance Champion. In the team sprint, she is the 2019 and 2020 World Single Distance Champion and the 2022 World Sprint Champion.

Early life and education Leerdam grew up as the third child of Ruud Leerdam and his wife Monique in 's-Gravenzande in the Westland region. She has an older brother Kjeld, an older sister Merel and a younger sister Beaudine. Her father works in horticulture and is a second generation tomato farmer. She was named after the German windsurfing world champion by her father, a windsurfing enthusiast.

As a child, Leerdam dealt with hyperactivity.

Initially, she completed a HAVO certificate. She commenced studying Sport Marketing & Management at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, where she completed her first year, before transferring to study commercial economics at the Johan Cruyff Academy of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen. She transferred there due to her move to Heerenveen. She dropped out of this programme after one semester to focus on her sports career.

Career

Leerdam became the junior world champion at the 2017 World Junior Championships in Helsinki, Finland. The following year, at the 2018 Championships in Salt Lake City, United States, she finished second behind compatriot Joy Beune.

During the 2017–18 season, she won the ISU Junior World Cup competition in the 1000m and 1500m events. She also became the Dutch junior sprint champion. In 2018, she turned professional and became a member of Team IKO.

Since turning professional Leerdam won the 1000m world title twice (2020 and 2023), silver at that distance at the 2022 Winter Olympics and also the gold medal at the World Sprint Championships in 2022. Leerdam joined Team Jumbo-Visma in 2022.

At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Leerdam won gold with an Olympic record time of 1:12.31 in the women's 1000 meters event. She also won silver in the women's 500 meters event.

Personal life Leerdam was in a relationship with Dutch speed skater Koen Verweij from 2017 to 2022. Since 2023, she has been in a relationship with American social media personality and professional boxer Jake Paul. The couple publicly confirmed their relationship on 3 April 2023 after communicating over Instagram a few months earlier. On 22 March 2025, Leerdam and Paul announced their engagement on Instagram. Paul attended the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina where he cheered on Leerdam as she won gold in the 1000 meters.

Her second cousin is also a speed skater.

Records Personal records

World record Nr.EventResultDateLocationNotes 1. Team sprint 1:24.029 13 February 2020 Utah Olympic Oval, Salt Lake City With Letitia de Jong and Femke Kok

Olympic record Nr.EventResultDateLocationNotes 1. Women's 1000 m 1:12.31 09 February 2026 Milano Speed Skating Stadium, Milan

Tournament overview Season Dutch Championships Single Distances Dutch Championships Sprint European Championships Single Distances European Championships Sprint World Championships Single Distances World Championships Sprint Olympic Games World Cup GWC World Championships Allround Junior World Cup Junior 2016–17 14th 500m 12th 1000m 15th 1500m 500m 1500m 7th 1000m 3000m overall team pursuit 2017–18 11th 500m 10th 1000m 14th 1500m 500m 1500m 1000m 3000m overall team pursuit team sprint 500m 1000m 1500m overall 2018–19 500m 1000m 500m 1000m 500m 1000m overall 4th 500m 1000m 4th 500m 1000m 4th overall 16th 500m 5th 1000m team sprint 16th 500m 6th 1000m 15th 500m 4th 1000m 10th overall 20th 500m 15th 1000m 2019–20 500m 1000m DNS 500m 1000m 8th 500m 1000m team sprint 15th 500m 1000m 7th 500m 1000m 5th overall 24th 500m 4th 1000m team sprint 2020–21 500m 1000m 500m 1000m 500m 1000m overall 4th 500m 1000m 500m 1000m overall 4th 500m 1000m 28th 500m 18th 1000m 2021–22 500m 1000m 1000m 5th 500m 1000m 500m 1000m overall 5th 500m 1000m 20th 500m 15th 1000m 2022–23 500m 1000m 1500m 500m 1000m 500m 1000m overall 500m 1000m 500m 1000m overall 500m 1000m 7th 1500m 4th 500m 1000m 22nd 1500m 2023–24 500m 1000m 6th 1500m 500m 1000m 6th 500m 1000m 5e 500m 1000m 5e 500m 1000m overall 2024–25 500m 1000m 500m 1000m 500m 1000m overall 500m 1000m 500m 1000m overall 500m 1000m team sprint 2025-26 6th 500m 1000m 500m 1000m Source:

Events for World Championship Junior Allround: 500m, 1500m, 1000m, 3000m Events for sprint championships: 500m, 1000m, 500m, 1000m

World Cup overview Season 500 meter 2017–18 Junior 2018–19 11th 13th 9th 11th 14th 16th 11th – – – – 2019–20 12th 8th 11th – – – – 2020–21 6th – – – 2021–22 12th 12th 7th 4th 7th 20th 2022–23 5th – 20th Season1000 meter 2017–18 Junior 2018–19 10th 9th 10th 7th – – – 2019–20 4th 6th – 9th 2020–21 4th – 2021–22 5th 4th 2022–23 – Season1500 meter 2017–18 Junior 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 10th 8th 7th – – – SeasonTeam sprint 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 – 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23