Jutta Leerdam’s Olympic hopes on the brink

Dutch women’s speed skating hopeful Jutta Leerdam rebounded in the 500 meters race on Sunday in hopes of making the Olympic team at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

Leerdam finished the race in second place after Femke Kok. Kok, who broke the world record in the women’s 500 meters in November, had a time of 36.873. Leerdam completed the race with a time of 37.242.

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It was much better than Friday’s result.

Leerdam, the fiancée of boxer Jake Paul, had an accident and fell on the ice during the 1000 meter race. She burst into tears while slipping on the ice.

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Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands looks upset while competing in the women’s 500 meters during Day 1 of the Dutch Speed ​​Skating Olympic Qualifiers at Thialf on December 26, 2025 in Heerenveen, Netherlands. (Henk Jan Dijks/Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)

“I skate very well in training. If these girls can skate here, I could skate easily today,” she said. olympics.com. “I’ve skated 1:14 here 25 times and I feel better now than I have in the last two years. I’m really doing it.”

There is still hope for Leerdam to qualify for the Olympics, as the national committee will decide whether Leerdam will be cut.

Leerdam won the silver medal in the 1000 meters race at the 2022 Beijing Games. She finished just behind Japan’s Miho Takagi, who broke the Olympic record.

Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands took gold in the women’s 1000 meters at the ISU Speed ​​Skating World Cup held at the Utah Olympic Oval on November 14, 2025. (Peter Creveling/Imagn Images)

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She skipped the 2025 ISU Speed ​​Skating World Cup in Hamar, Norway, to focus on the Olympic trials.

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