10 nov 2023 om 09:43 Update: 4 uur geleden
For Jutta Leerdam, thoughts quickly turned to her family on Friday after her World Cup gold. She talks about a very difficult time and hopes that her mother in particular is proud of her performance in the 1,000 meters in Obihiro, Japan.
“I don’t want to cry again, but there is something in my family that is not going well in terms of health,” Leerdam said NOS. “I don’t want to go into too much detail, but it was very difficult.”
Leerdam appeared on the ice twice on Friday at the first World Cup of the season. In the 500 meters she did not finish in the top ten after two misses. She took revenge in the 1,000 meters and, just like last season, was supreme.
“This week I dealt with it pretty well, but today with the stress and tension it’s just not very nice,” said Leerdam. “I notice that I go up and down in emotions. I notice that I am on the verge of crying and notice that not long afterwards I want to continue.”
Leerdam wonders out loud what she is actually doing on the other side of the world. “But I don’t want my mother to think I’m distracted. She would really mind. If I hadn’t performed today, I would have felt very bad too.”
Leerdam won the 1,000 meters for the eighteenth time in a row on Friday. The South Holland native will be back in action on Saturday, in the second 500 meters in Obihiro.
Tags: Leerdam conquers gold emotional time verge crying continue skate
