Jake Paul's Fiancee Jutta Leerdam Keeps 2026 Olympic Hopes Alive After Crash in Trials

Dutch women's speed skater Jutta Leerdam, the fiancee of Jake Paul, kept her hopes alive for the 2026 Winter OIympics.

Leerdam, who crashed on the second bend in the 1000-meter final in Friday's Olympic Trials, finished in second place in Sunday's 500-meter race with a time of 37.242.

Leerdam finished behind Femke Kok, who finished with a winning time of 36.873 on Sunday after setting the women's 500-meter world record in November.

Paul wrote in an Instagram story on Sunday, "So proud of you warrior."

Still, it will come down to the Dutch national selection committee to determine whether Leerdam will make the cut for the Olympic team. A decision is expected early next month.

"I'm skating so well in practice. What those girls are skating here, I could have easily skated today," Leerdam said after Friday's race, per Lena Smirnova of Olympics.com. "I've skated 1:14 here 25 times, and I feel even better now than I have in the past two years. I'm really hitting it."

Leerdam was a silver medalist at the 2022 Winter Games in the 1,000-meter race, and she won two 1000-meter races during the 2025-26 World Cup season. She said she hopes her overall body of work will be enough to get her a spot in the 2026 Milano Cortina Games.

"I've won the past World Cups. I've always been at least in the top two at the world level," Leerdam said (h/t Smirnova). "I hope they'll look at my level, including today, how I was skating before I fell, and the growth I'm making."