Leerdam took silver to her fellow countrywoman Femke Kok's gold, while Jackson finished fifth
Sarah Stier/Getty; Andreas Rentz/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Jutta Leerdam, Jake Paul’s fiancée, won her second medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics
- Six days after her gold in the women’s 1000-meters, the speedskater added a 500-meter silver
- Erin Jackson, who won gold in the event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Black woman to win a solo medal at a Winter Olympics, finished off the podium
Jutta Leerdam is adding to her medal count — and her fiancé Jake Paul couldn't be prouder.
The Dutch speedskater, 27, snagged the silver medal in women's 500-meter speedskating at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday, Feb. 15, just behind her fellow countrywoman Femke Kok, who took gold. Erin Jackson, the Team USA star who won the event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, was unable to defend her gold medal and finished in fifth, 0.83 behind Kok and just 0.05 off the podium.
Leerdam was in the first place position coming down to the final two skaters, Kok and Jackson. Jackson took the lead after the first 250 meters, but couldn't hold on, as Kok skated away for gold.
Kok and Leerdam celebrated together, along with the bronze medalist, Japan's Miho Takagi, after Kok and Jackson's skate.
Daniel MUNOZ / AFP via Getty
Paul, 29, was in the Milano Speed Skating Arena to cheer on his fiancée for a second time, and immediately posted a video of the moment she skated her way to the first position.
"she’s so amazing wow. another medal 🥈 you inspire us all. @juttaleerdam," Paul wrote after the race.
View this post on Instagram
Jackson, 33, had her eyes set on another gold, she told PEOPLE a year earlier.
“I really welcome the pressure, so I guess I’m a little bit different in that regard,” Jackson, who became the first Black woman to win a solo medal at the Winter Olympics in 2022. “I kind of eat on that pressure to get me in the right mindset for my events.”
Unfortunately, though, Jackson wasn't able to find that gold again at the 2026 Games. Along with her fifth-place finish in the 500 meters, she took sixth in her other event, the 1000-meters.
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.
Read the full article here
