Femke Kok beats Jutta Leerdam to speed skating 500m gold with new Olympic record at Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics
By Becky Hart
Updated 15/02/2026 at 22:20 GMT
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It was a Dutch one-two in the women's 500m speed skating at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games. Femke Kok set a new Olympic record of 36.49s to take gold ahead of Jutta Leerdam in a reverse of their 1000m duel. Team GB's Ellia Smeding clocked a time of 38.93s to finish in 25th place in the event. Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+.
'Boom!' - Kok smashes Olympic record as Leerdam takes silver
Video credit: TNT Sports
Femke Kok set a new Olympic record as she beat Dutch team-mate Jutta Leerdam to win gold in the women’s 500m speed skating at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Kok posted a time of 36.49 seconds to top the podium ahead of Leerdam (37.15s) and Japan’s Miho Takagi (37.27s)
Having taken silver behind Leerdam in the 1000m, Kok reversed that result after going off in the last group.
She was skating with the defending champion Erin Jackson of the US, who wound up finishing fifth, 0.83s down on Kok’s winning time.
Takagi took bronze for Japan having skated in just the fourth pairing out - she was already off the ice and in the warm-up area when she realised she had a medal, her ninth in total.
"There was so much pressure and I really wanted to prove to everyone that I could do it," Kok said.
"I was at the starting line in the last pair, so when you finish you know [straight away] if it’s enough or not. I was like: ‘I need to go as fast as I can to that finish line.’
"The race was so good. I dreamed of it, but I didn’t know it was that fast."
Jackson has struggled with herniated discs in her back, and wound up missing out on the podium by just 0.005s.
"Femke has been the person to chase," Jackson said.
"She’s been amazing throughout the season. I was like, ‘OK, there’s still a chance. If I have the perfect race I can probably give her a run for her money.’ I was expecting to land somewhere on the podium today, so to be just off, that’s a little tough, but it is what it is."
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Kok knew the time she had to beat after her great rival Leerdam went in the 12th of the 15 pairings - and she might have even seen that Leerdam had a shaky start.
Leerdam gave up a few fractions off the line, but with Kok winning by 0.66s, it is hard to say if that made a difference.
But Leerdam was one of the first to skate to her compatriot, the two sharing a hug on the ice before they once again shared a podium.
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Silver medallist Netherlands' Jutta Leerdam (R) celebrates with gold medallist Netherlands' Femke Kok after competing in the speed skating women's 500m
Image credit: Getty Images
"Femke and Jutta, great friends, great rivals and they shared it didn’t they - Leerdam got the kilo, Femke has got this," added Kirby.
"They know how to celebrate [here], they certainly did after Jutta took the kilo. Could be quite the party. The Netherlands have a lot to be thankful for - they pushed each other on.
"Absolutely magnificent performance."
Team GB's Ellia Smeding clocked a time of 38.93s to come in 25th place
Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.
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