Olympics-Speed skating-Netherlands' Leerdam channels expectations to win gold

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Speed Skating - Women's 1000m - Milano Speed Skating Stadium, Milan, Italy - February 09, 2026. Jutta Leerdam of Netherlands celebrates her Olympic record time and winning the women's 1000m race with her coach Kosta Poltavets. REUTERS/Yves Herman

MILAN, Feb 9 (Reuters) - ‌Netherlands speed skater Jutta Leerdam said the weight of expectation pushed her to deliver a "surreal" ‌run and win the 1,000 metres gold at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Monday.

The ‌2020 and 2023 world single-distance champion in the event, Leerdam led a Dutch one-two ahead of Femke Kok, securing the country's first medals of these Games.