Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam combines Olympic gold and influencer attitude / Photo: WANG Zhao - AFP
Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam combines Olympic gold and influencer attitude
To say Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam divides opinion is an understatement.
An Olympic champion already at the Milan-Cortina Games, she goes for a second gold on Sunday in the 500 metres event.
So is 27-year-old Leerdam a leading star of her sport or more of an influencer?
She certainly doesn't go unnoticed -- just like her boyfriend, the American YouTuber Jake Paul who has a combined 70 million social media followers and supports US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, with whom he attended an Olympic ice hockey game.
Leerdam arrived in Italy for the Games by private jet with Paul, whose nascent career as a boxer received a reality check when Anthony Joshua knocked him out in a Netflix-backed fight in December.
Her teammates travelled on a commercial flight with the Dutch delegation.
Leerdam's approach led to her being labelled a "terrible diva" by 77-year-old star sports pundit and former footballer Johan Derksen on Dutch television channel SBS6 this week.
In a country that values modesty, displays of wealth and exuberance are frowned upon by many, including within the ranks of the Dutch Olympic team in Milan.
- 'New image for speedskating' -
Two years ago, Leerdam clashed with speed skating legend and now team manager Sven Kramer, leaving the four-time Olympic champion's set-up to strike out on her own.
They fell out over Leerdam's demands for individualised preparation routines and, crucially, commercial freedom.
"No-one is bigger than the team," Kramer, regarded as the greatest speed skater of the modern era, declared at the time.
But after Leerdam's gold-medal winning performance in the 1,000m event on Monday, in a new Olympic record time, with an emotional Paul roaring her on in the stands, Kramer is faced with a stark reality -- Leerdam brings a youthful image and visibility that has modernised a sport that only hits the international spotlight every four years.
On Monday, the De Telegraaf newspaper praised that influence, noting that by winning gold, Leerdam had "answered all her critics".
And it must be said that much of the criticism comes from Dutch media outlets that Leerdam sometimes neglects -- occasionally with a hint of disdain -- as she manages her image.
With five million Instagram followers, Leerdam is the most-followed speed skater in history.
On Monday, she narrowly beat her compatriot Femke Kok, whose low-key personality contrasts sharply with the joyful exuberance of the "Queen of the Ice".
"There is mutual respect between the two of us. Our rivalry pushes skating forward," said Kok, the world champion at 500m, the distance the two will do battle over on Sunday.
The rivals could hardly be more different, in both personality and skating style.
Kok is explosive, capable of reaching a high stride frequency while remaining supple thanks to her background in gymnastics.
Leerdam in contrast is "raw power and aerodynamics", says her compatriot Ireen Wuest, the most decorated female skater in history with 13 Olympic medals.
Over 500m, Kok starts with a clear advantage. But Leerdam will be, as she often says on Instagram, in "warrior mode".
(R.Mohlala--TPT)
