"Jutta Leerdam delivered the defining race of her career on Monday night, roaring to Olympic gold in the women's 1000m and setting a new Olympic record of 1min 12.31sec to lead a Dutch one-two and deliver the Netherlands' first medals of the Games. The 27-year-old finished 0.28sec ahead of compatriot Femke Kok, who had briefly held the Olympic record after clocking 1:12.59 earlier in the final group. Japan's defending Olympic champion Miho Takagi took bronze in 1:13.95."
"Inside a packed 7,000-seat arena in Milan's western suburbs, the atmosphere felt closer to Heerenveen than Lombardy. Most of the crowd wore Dutch orange, turning the venue into a rolling wall of noise as the final three heats unfolded. Among them was Leerdam's fiance, the boxer-influencer Jake Paul, who wept uncontrollably from the second row after she won as her own tears left streaks of eyeliner down her face."
"Drawn in the final pair against Takagi, Leerdam delivered a masterclass in pacing and control. She opened in 17.68 seconds and produced the fastest 600m split in the field at 43.78 before closing with authority to stop the clock at 1:12.31 and lower the minutes-old Olympic record. Her final lap of 28.53 seconds completed a performance built on middle-phase efficiency rather than explosive opening speed, moving her to within seven-tenths of Bowe's world mark of 1:11.61."
Jutta Leerdam, 27, won Olympic gold in the women's 1000m in 1:12.31, setting a new Olympic record and delivering the Netherlands' first medals of the Games. She finished 0.28 seconds ahead of Femke Kok, who had briefly set an Olympic record at 1:12.59, while Japan's Miho Takagi took bronze in 1:13.95. The final unfolded before a largely Dutch crowd in a packed Milan arena, with Leerdam's fiance Jake Paul emotionally present. Leerdam opened in 17.68 seconds, logged the fastest 600m split at 43.78, and closed with a 28.53 final lap, relying on middle-phase efficiency to lower the minutes-old Olympic record.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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