Jutta Monica Leerdam (pronounced [ˈjutaː ˈmoːnikaː leːrˈdɑm]; 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.
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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 Jutta Müller by her father, a windsurfing enthusiast.
As a child, Leerdam dealt with hyperactivity. As a result, her parents thought sport would help her to balance her energy levels. She started playing field hockey, gymnastics and tennis, but switched to speed skating at the suggestion of her father at the age of eleven.
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 Dione Voskamp is also a speed skater.
Records
Tournament overview
Source:
Events for World Championship Junior Allround: 500m, 1500m, 1000m, 3000m
Events for sprint championships: 500m, 1000m, 500m, 1000m