MILAN — YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul showed up for speedskating at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Monday and was standing at his second-row seat in the stands while his fiancée, Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands, took the gold medal in the women's 1,000 meters.
Wearing a scarf on his shoulders with the orange color of the Dutch team, he walked past a reporter without answering questions before the race. During the race, he was the very picture of focus, alternating clapping or wringing his hands while standing to watch Leerdam compete.
When she was done, and had won, she went over to the sideboards in front of where Paul was and paused, crying. She blew a kiss and made a heart shape with her hands while looking up toward Paul.
Leerdam collected a silver in the 1,000 four years ago at the Beijing Games and owns a pair of world titles at that distance. She also won three of the four World Cup 1,000-meter races she entered this season. She was scheduled to compete in the last of 15 heats Monday.
Separately, Leerdam and Paul draw big crowds to their social media sites — her Instagram page has about 5 million followers; his has more than 28 million. Together, they draw a lot of eyeballs and interest, and he had been expected to attend her events in Milan.
Leerdam and Paul posted news about their engagement on Instagram in March.
Paul is not shy about offering his opinions on all manner of matters, and he has been critical on social media in recent days about American Olympians expressing their opinions about what is going on back in their country at the moment. He also sent a series of posts to X about Puerto Rico music star Bad Bunny's appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show, including: “Turn off this halftime. A fake American performing who publicly hates America. I cannot support that.”
That drew a rebuke on social media from his brother, Logan, who wrote: “I love my brother but I don't agree with this. Puerto Ricans are Americans & I'm happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island.”
Later, Jake Paul posted again to say that he lives in Puerto Rico and that he agreed with Bad Bunny's sentiment that “love is more powerful than hate.” But he added that he thinks voicing criticism of the U.S. is “being a fake citizen.”
Earlier at these Olympics, Paul sat with U.S. Vice President JD Vance at a women's hockey game that the United States won 5-0 against Finland.
Leerdam is a 27-year-old Dutch athlete who also is scheduled to participate in the 500 meters next Sunday.
Her trophy collection includes 12 world championship medals, with six golds. Two of those titles arrived in the 1,000 — in 2020 and 2023.
Now she has an Olympic gold, too.
Paul is a 29-year-old American influencer who first gained fame for his YouTube videos and then made his way into the world of boxing about five years ago.
He most recently had his jaw broken during sixth-round knockout loss to former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua at Miami in December.
Paul has also gone up against a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November 2024, plus Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., retired UFC fighters Anderson Silva and Nate Díaz and former NBA player Nate Robinson.
___
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
