Olympic celebrations usually look like confetti, champagne, and a camera hunting for tears. Jutta Leerdam gave us the tears — then hit everyone with the most elite-athlete flex imaginable: a cooldown.
After winning gold in the women’s 1,000 meters at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games, Leerdam set an Olympic record of 1:12.31, sealing a Dutch 1–2 and finally flipping the script after taking silver in the event at Beijing 2022.
So how did she celebrate? Not by immediately sprinting to the nearest party. According to Page Six, Leerdam first reunited with fiancé Jake Paul and both families in the Family Lounge — a quieter, behind-the-scenes moment that’s basically the Olympic version of “let me call my people before the world blows up my phone.”
Then came the part that will make every weekend warrior feel personally attacked: Page Six reports she completed a cool-down cycling session at the venue for active recovery before doing the more traditional victory lap with friends and fans.
Only after the recovery work did she lean into the celebration, heading to TeamNL House with Paul by her side, where he was described as emotional and proudly documenting the moment on social media. And for sports fans keeping score, Reuters noted Paul was in the stands as she won the gold — meaning he got the full “Olympic record + instant waterworks” experience in real time.
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The romance subplot is obviously doing numbers, but the timeline matters: Page Six notes they confirmed their relationship in April 2023 and announced their engagement in March 2025. The bigger takeaway is that Leerdam’s “party” started the way champions actually live: recover first, celebrate second — then let everyone else argue online about which part was more iconic.
Featured image via Usa Today
