From birth in 's-Gravenzande, via youth club Pijnacker, to Olympic gold
Milano Cortina 2026: Feb 9 (1,000 meters) | 🥇 1:12.31 Olympic Record
"Many called me crazy. But when you follow your heart, you end up standing here with gold around your neck."
Jutta Leerdam, Feb 9, 2026, Milan (Source: NOS)
The Early Years · 2010 – 2017
Every world champion starts somewhere. For Jutta Leerdam, it started on the ice of a small South Holland club. This is how a girl from Pijnacker became a junior world champion.
She played hockey first, like so many kids in her neighbourhood. But around the age of eleven, Jutta Leerdam put down her hockey stick and laced up her skates. The ice at De Uithof in The Hague became her new home, and at IJsvereniging Pijnacker she found her first skating community. A seemingly small choice with an enormous outcome.
Sometimes you just know this is it — even if you can't yet fathom how far it will take you.
On the ice of IJsvereniging Pijnacker, Jutta wins her first title: club champion. It may not be a major prize, but for a young skater it is the first proof that she has more than just fun on ice. The young Jutta begins to realise she is seriously fast — and that she wants to hold on to that feeling.
Your first championship title, however small, changes everything. Suddenly you want more.
As a B-junior, Jutta earns her first medal at national level: a bronze in the mini-allround at the Junior National Championships. It is the leap from the region to the national podium. Rivals from across the country, a large arena, and the confirmation that the talent growing in Pijnacker now counts on the national stage too.
From the local club to the Nationals — it is a different world, and she belongs there.
This season marks a turning point. Jutta wins her first national title at 1,000 metres among B-juniors and joins RTC Southwest — a more professional training environment where she can work at a higher level. Speed increases, technique improves and confidence follows suit. She is no longer just a prospect; she is a name to watch.
RTC Southwest opens a new door. The skater she wants to become starts to take shape here.
As a first-year A-junior, Jutta shows she is no one-dimensional talent. She takes the Dutch junior sprint title, becomes allround champion and national champion at 1,000 metres — all in a single season. Rivals, coaches and experts begin to whisper: this girl is different. Not only fast, but strong across all distances.
Three titles in one season. She is not competing — she is dominating.
The national success translates directly to the international stage. As a first-year A-junior, Jutta Leerdam becomes junior world champion in the allround, at 1,500 metres and in the team pursuit. In one season her horizon shifts for good: from national titles to the top of the world. The girl from Pijnacker now stands on the world podium.
From Pijnacker to the world in one season. Her name now rings out far beyond the Netherlands.
At the World Junior Championships in Helsinki, Jutta puts the perfect full stop on her junior career: she becomes junior world champion in the allround and at 1,500 metres. The girl who began on the rink of IJsvereniging Pijnacker now stands as one of the most dominant junior talents of her generation. The foundation laid in Pijnacker was solid enough for the rest of her journey.
Helsinki 2017: the moment the world learned the name Jutta Leerdam.
A determined girl from 's-Gravenzande, named after German windsurfing champ Jutta Müller by her surf-loving father. She picked up skating at eleven, and by 2017, she was the junior all-around world champion in Helsinki. The talent was impossible to ignore.
Sources: Olympics.com and Wikipedia
After taking the ISU Junior World Cup in the 1,000 and 1,500m, Jutta turned pro with Team IKO. She qualified for the big World Cup races right away. A bright future was already calling.
Sources: Wikipedia and TeamNL
At just 21, she was already the best in the world on the kilometer. But then she made a choice that shocked the entire skating world.
Sources: NOS and KNSB
With Koen Verweij, she started Team Worldstream under coach Kosta Poltavets. In a sport built on rigid structures, this was a massive risk. Jutta wanted to do it her own way.
"I didn't want to look in the mirror later and think: why didn't I take that chance?"
Source: NOS, Oct 2020
Her debut in Beijing. She was burning up the ice but touched the surface in the final stretch. Takagi took gold with 1:13.19; Jutta took silver with 1:13.83. That silver stung.
"I had so much speed, I just couldn't hold on to it for that one second."
Source: Olympics.com
Worldstream closed, and Jutta moved to Jumbo-Visma for more structure. She won another world title in 2023, but behind the scenes, it was a battle with injuries and family health struggles.
Sources: NOS and Schaatsen.nl
A lingering ankle injury reached a breaking point. In Salt Lake City, she finished eleventh. In tears, she admitted she had considered walking away from it all.
"My ankle is just giving out. I'm skating at 60 percent here."
Source: NOS, Jan 2024
Her contract ended, and Jutta chose the most radical path yet: going completely solo. She founded Team KaFra with Poltavets. It was a lonely but calculated gamble.
"It's stressful and can be lonely, but if I win, it will be worth everything."
Sources: NOS and AD
Her relationship, her lifestyle, and her choice to go independent were all under fire. Critics doubted her commitment, but Jutta refused to blink.
"People think I'm less focused because of what I do outside of skating, but I prove them wrong every time I lace up."
Source: Helden Magazine
Less than a month before the trials, she was hit by a car while cycling. Stitches in her chin, but her spirit remained unbroken.
Source: Shownieuws
During the 1,000m trials, the unimaginable happened. She opened faster than ever but slipped in the second turn and crashed into the boards. The stadium went silent.
"I never fall. I knew I had a top time in me today."
Sources: NOS and Sporza
Two days later, bruised but ready, she took the start for the 500m. She finished second and secured her own spot for the Games.
"I earned this ticket myself."
Source: KNSB
Arriving in Milan, all eyes were on Jutta. She chose total silence, refusing to talk to the press to keep her focus. The media were furious, and the pressure became immense.
"Everything I say is put under a microscope right now."
Source: William Rutten, Feb 2026
Jutta shut out the world. No interviews, just focus. Coach Poltavets predicted a 1:12. It sounded impossible, but she believed in the path she'd chosen.
Source: NOS
The draw put the two rivals in the final race. Femke Kok had just set the pace. Jutta had to find something extra to take the gold.
Ice flying everywhere. At 600m, she took the lead. The final lap was pure grit. 1:12.31. Gold. The eruption of joy was unlike anything else.
"I couldn't believe it. I was so exhausted I could barely see."
Source: NOS
Her father Ruud was cheering from the stands. King Willem-Alexander offered his congratulations. The supposed rivalry with Femke Kok ended in a heartfelt embrace.
"She knows what she wants and she goes for it. She got that drive from her mother."
Ruud Leerdam, Father (Source: NOS)
Pijnacker in Nederland is waar de basis werd gelegd. Door haar succesen op het ijs, via onder andere de veiling van het schaatspak voor de lokale ijsvereniging (IJVP), vloeit de inspiratie en steun direct terug naar de jeugd in Pijnacker.
The final major prize was finally hers. World champion in 2020, 2023, and 2025. And now: Gold at the 2026 Milan Games. The first Dutch gold of the tournament.
| The Golden Time | 1:12.31 |
| Dutch Double | Kok takes silver (1:12.59) |
| Gap to silver | 0,28 second |
| World Titles won | 3× (2020, 2023, 2025) |
| Takagi takes bronze | 1:13.95 (+1,64 sec.) |
Milan-Cortina 2026
At the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Jutta Leerdam once again proved why she belongs among the world's elite sprinters. In Italy, she added both silver and gold to her already impressive trophy cabinet, with races that rank among the finest of her career.
Earlier in the tournament, on February 9, 2026, Jutta made history on her signature distance: the 1,000 meters. With a phenomenal run she became Olympic champion in a time of 1:12.31, setting a new Olympic record. From the very first stroke she radiated control and confidence, unleashing another burst in the final lap to leave the competition firmly behind. This golden race in Milan-Cortina stands as one of the most dominant 1,000-meter performances of her career.
On February 15, 2026, Jutta Leerdam claimed the silver medal in the 500 meters at Milan-Cortina. In a blazing run of 37.15 seconds, only compatriot Femke Kok was marginally faster, keeping the gold just out of reach. For Jutta, this silver felt like the maximum possible on this distance: a near-perfect sprint where every stride, start, and corner was executed to the finest detail. The race confirmed her standing among the absolute world elite on the shortest sprint distance.
With gold and silver at Milan-Cortina 2026, Jutta brings her Olympic medal total to three. She won silver in the 1,000 meters at Beijing 2022, then four years later in Italy completed the circle with Olympic gold and an Olympic record on the same distance. Added to that came the 2026 silver in the 500 meters, proof that she competes with the best women in the world on the shortest sprint distance too. Together these results define her legacy: Jutta Leerdam is no longer just the talent of the future — she is the benchmark for her entire sprint generation.
"She dared to go her own way. Everyone called us crazy, but together we proved them wrong. Jutta did it all herself."
— Kosta Poltavets, Coach Team KaFra
"These are tears of pure relief. The pressure was just through the roof."
— Jutta Leerdam, Milan 2026
Juttalicious is the viral nickname used by skating fans worldwide to describe Jutta Leerdam. The term gained extra visibility when Ireen Wüst and Mark Tuitert mentioned it during their analysis of the 2026 Winter Olympics on NOS Sport. It describes the unique combination of Jutta Leerdam's powerful skating style and her enormous charisma. It represents the perfect balance between elite sport and cultural impact.
Yes, Jutta Leerdam made history on February 9, 2026, by winning the Olympic Gold Medal in the 1000m speed skating event with a record-breaking time of 1:12.31, securing her legacy as one of the greatest skaters of all time.
Team KaFra is the independent speed skating team founded by Jutta Leerdam and coach Kosta Poltavets in April 2024. Breaking away from traditional commercial teams, KaFra allowed Jutta to train on her own terms, leading directly to her 2026 Olympic success.
Jutta Leerdam's 2026 Olympic campaign was powered by a strategic portfolio of premium partners including Nike (Athletic Wear), Red Bull (Performance), Hugo Boss (Fashion), Dior (Luxury), and Odido (Connectivity), all united under the Juttalicious brand ecosystem.
Everything in this story is grounded in these verified sources:
Important Info: This is an independent and unofficial archive. We are not affiliated with Jutta Leerdam or her teams. We do not use third-party media items and cite from public sources.