Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam has been among the standout performers so far in the Winter Olympics currently taking place in Italy’s Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The 27-year-old, after all, had won women’s 1,000m gold on Monday while smashing the Olympic record with a timing of 1:12:31, with Femke Kok winning silver to complete a Dutch one-two in the event.

And on Sunday, Leerdam – who was visibly emotional after her victory earlier this week – added another medal to her collection by winning silver in the women’s 500m sprint, with Kok smashing the Olympic record in this event for a change.

Despite her Olympic heroics, Leerdam finds herself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons in recent weeks.

From fall-out with speed-skating legend to arriving in Italy in a private jet

One reason could be the speed skating star’s boyfriend, American YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who has publicly endorsed controversial US president Donald Trump and vice-president JD Vance. Leerdam had also made headlines after arriving in Italy in a private jet along with Paul instead of accompanying the Dutch contingent on a commercial flight, leading to Dutch sports pundits labeling her a “terrible diva”.

And it’s not just in the ongoing Milano-Cortina Games where Leerdam has been facing the heat from experts as well as the general public for her behaviour. She had, after all, a fallout with Dutch speed-skating icon Sven Kramer two years ago.

Kramer, a four-time Olympic champion who was the team manager at the time, had disagreed with Leerdam pushing for customised training routines and commercial freedom, insisting that “no one is bigger than the team”.

At the same time, there are those who believe Leerdam’s athletic success combined with a massive social media following (she has 6.1 million followers on Instagram) will only be beneficial for speed skating and for winter sports in general.

Leerdam has already silenced many of her detractors with her record-breaking victory earlier this week and her 500m silver on Sunday will have further pushed criticism surrounding her personal life and her commercial interests to the backseat. And if she continues to produce such performances on the ice, such discussions will eventually fade into irrelevance.

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Francesca Lollobrigida added another major title to her Olympic resume this week, but her son stole the show in the press conference.

In a lighthearted family moment during the Italian speed skater’s post-race presser after securing gold, she was answering questions from reporters as her son decided to have his own moment at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.

Lollobrigida’s young son Tommaso was seated beside her, reaching up as she was answering a question in an interview with Rai Sport on Sunday.

Tommaso grabbed his mother’s face, attempting to “shush” her as she was talking.

Lollobrigida attempted to fend him off, cracking a smile, but continuing the interview.

Her son then pulled her hat off her head while she was talking.

Lollobrigida, also celebrating her 35th birthday, won the gold medal in the 3,000-meter women’s speed skating on Saturday, setting an Olympic record in the process, with a time of 3:54.28.

“My family was here watching me and it’s incredible because we’re in Italy, and it’s the dream of my dream,” she said.

Lollobrigida is the first Italian woman in history to win gold in speedskating, and she also became the first Italian athlete to win gold during this year’s Olympics.

2026 WINTER OLYMPICS

She previously earned a silver and bronze medal in the 2022 Bejing Olympics.

“Aside from doing this for me, I did it for him, so one day he will be proud of me,” Lollobrigida said of her son. “Not just for being an Olympic champion, but because of the full journey we’ve lived together.”

She added, “This was to show the people that you can be a mom and come back to be much stronger.”

Reveling in her accomplishment, she admitted that she contemplated abandoning the journey altogether earlier this year.

“In the beginning of the season, I really wanted to give up,” Lollobrigida said. “But then the people who really believed in me said, ‘No, you really need to fight.’”