The 2026 Winter Olympics will begin on Friday night.
The 2026 Games, held in Italy, will open this weekend. The Opening Ceremonies are set to air in primetime on NBC on Friday evening. The multi-week games will take place over much of February.
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Jutta Leerdam, 27, is one of the frontrunners in the women’s speed skating competitions. Leerdam, who is engaged to be married to boxer Jake Paul, was the 2022 World Sprint Champion in the 500 and 1000 meters combined. She is also the 2020 and 2023 World Single Distance Champion in the 1000 meters.
The speed skater has been named the “world’s hottest” in her sport.
HEERENVEEN, NETHERLANDS – MARCH 05: Jutta Leerdam of Netherlands thanks the fans after she competes in the 1500m Women race during the ISU World Speed Skating Championships at Thialf Ice Rink on March 05, 2023 in Heerenveen, Netherlands. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
(Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Leerdam, who is from the Netherlands, arrived in Italy earlier this week. She’s ready for action.
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“Hi, Olympic Games. ✨🤍💥,” she wrote.
Leerdam has developed a massive following
Leerdam has more than five million followers on Instagram. She was named one of the “hottest” athletes at the 2026 Winter Games by The Daily Mail.
“Jutta Leerdam may have been thrust into the spotlight thanks to her romance with renowned YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, but the blonde beauty has made a name for herself in her own right,” says the Wednesday, February 4 article in the Daily Mail. “The Dutch athlete is a highly successful speed skater who has swept up World Championship titles and an Olympic silver medal at the 2022 Winter Games…She has followed in the footsteps of her fiance in becoming somewhat of a social media sensation. The 27-year-old, who has been branded the ‘world’s hottest speed skater’ by Dutch media, has amassed over four-and-a-half million Instagram followers after regularly posting snaps of herself competing, living her extroverted life with Paul or showing off her glamorous getaways.”
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The 2026 Winter Games will be fun to watch.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Feb 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the Olympics section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
