Kok beats Leerdam in Olympic rematch of Dutch speed skaters

Milan (Italy) (AFP) – Dutch speed skating star Jutta Leerdam was pipped to her second gold medal at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics by her teammate Femke Kok in a thrilling 500 metres contest on Sunday.

Leerdam, the girlfriend of American YouTuber Jake Paul, won the 1000m event earlier in the Games with Kok in silver medal position. But Kok, in her preferred event, turned the tables on Leerdam to take her first gold of the Milan-Cortina Games by posting an Olympic record time of 36.49sec.

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Leerdam had earlier set down a time of 37.15sec but Kok powered through the line in her skate against the American Erin Jackson to go more than half a second faster. Miho Takagi of Japan took the bronze medal.

Leerdam, who has more than five million social media followers and drew criticism in the Netherlands for arriving at the Games on Paul’s private jet, was quick to congratulate Kok and Takagi and hugged her coaches and backroom staff.

© 2024 AFP