Dutch Speed Skating Star's "Sports Bra" Racing Suit Likely to Fetch Over 10 Million Won at Auction

Dutch Speed Skater Leerdam
Sports Bra Reveal After Gold-Medal Race Sparks Buzz
Racing Suit Price Soars in Olympic Commemorative Auction

The racing suit worn by Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics has gone up for auction, and the bidding price has soared to around 10 million won.

On the 9th (local time) at the Speed Skating Stadium in Milan, Italy, in the women's 1,000 m speed skating event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, Leerdam Jutta of the Netherlands is shedding tears after winning. Yonhap News Agency

On February 22 (local time), Yonhap News Agency cited the British Daily Mail as reporting that "the Dutch Olympic team has put items related to this Olympics up for auction," adding that "the racing suit Leerdam wore during the Games is currently on display at Team Netherlands House in Milan, Italy."

The auction features the racing suits of Leerdam, who won the women’s 1,000 m speed skating event, and Femke Kok, who won the 500 m. Also up for auction are the jacket worn by male short track triple gold medalist Jens van 't Wout at the opening ceremony, the Dutch national flag he carried, and the racing suits he wore. The Dutch delegation plans to donate the proceeds from the auction to the local clubs where the athletes began their sporting careers.

Among these, items related to Leerdam are drawing particularly strong interest. The racing suit bearing Leerdam’s autograph had climbed to 5,602 euros (about 9.56 million won) as of the morning of the 22nd. By contrast, the current bid for van 't Wout’s racing suit stands at 963 euros, roughly 20% of Leerdam’s. As the auction is scheduled to continue for about another week, the final winning bid is highly likely to exceed 10 million won.

Leerdam, who is also well known for being engaged to YouTuber and famous boxer Jake Paul, won the women’s 1,000 m speed skating event held in Milan on February 10 with an Olympic record of 1 minute 12.31 seconds, securing the first gold medal of these Games for the Netherlands. After her victory was confirmed, Leerdam pulled down the zipper of the top of her racing suit, revealing a white Nike sports bra, which drew enormous attention.

At the time, British newspaper The Sun quoted marketing experts as saying that Leerdam’s photo "enjoyed tremendous promotional impact through Nike’s social media accounts, which have 298 million followers," and that she "deserves a seven-figure bonus (over 1 million dollars)."

Dutch speed skater Leerdam Jutta. European Pressphoto Agency and Yonhap News Agency

Up until the Olympics, Leerdam had been at the center of controversy for reasons unrelated to her athletic performance. She arrived in Milan on a private jet arranged by her fianc? Jake Paul, and instead of attending the opening ceremony, she lay in bed at the athletes’ village watching TV, which she shared on social media.

Commenting on this, Dutch TV pundit Johan Derksen criticized her by saying, "It’s horrible, she looks like a diva," and added, "If I were the coach, I would never have tolerated such behavior." Critical voices were also raised in the Netherlands. In response, Leerdam said, "I regret not going to the opening ceremony," but further fueled the backlash by giving as her reason that she "couldn’t watch Mariah Carey’s performance in person."

In the end, however, she won gold in the 1,000 m and silver in the 500 m at these Games. Local reactions now describe her as "a true star who silenced the controversy with her performance." After winning the gold medal, Leerdam said, "I felt a lot of pressure," and added, "Despite everything going on around me and everything being said about me online, I proved how mentally strong I am."