Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam just barely missed out on winning her second gold medal of the Milan Cortina Games.
Leerdam, a now two-time Olympian who’s engaged to boxing sensation Jake Paul, finished second to her teammate Femke Kok in the women’s 500-meter speed-skating race Sunday.
Leerdam was clocked 0.66 seconds slower than Kok, who set an Olympic record with her time of 36.49 seconds.
Japan’s Miho Takagi earned the bronze medal, and Team USA skater Erin Jackson missed the podium by 0.5 seconds.
Leerdam entered this Winter Olympics with high expectations – and a little bit of controversy.
Leerdam had been dubbed a “diva” for flying to Italy for the competition in a private jet, but she silenced the haters with impressive showings.
Sunday’s silver was Leerdam’s second Olympic medal of this Winter Games and third overall.
Last week, Leerdam set a world record in the women’s 1000-meter speed-skating race with a time of 1:12.31 to capture her first Olympic gold.
Paul was overcome with emotion when Leerdam won and later gushed about his fiancée.
“Man, words can’t even describe it. It’s the greatest feeling (of) anything I’ve ever witnessed, to be honest,” Paul told The Associated Press. “Just the amount of hard work that goes into it. Like 99.9% of people will never understand. And she pulled it off, under the most amount of pressure ever.”
Leerdam’s second-place finish in Sunday’s 500-meter race is an improvement from the 2022 Beijing Games, where she finished fifth in the event.
Paul took to Instagram moments after the event to congratulate his future wife.
“She’s so amazing, wow,” he wrote. “Another medal, you inspire us all, Jutta Leerdam.”
