Leerdam’s orange kit, worn during the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, attracted a starting bid of $11,400 on auction site MatchWornShirt. In just a few hours, the price skyrocketed to £170,000, making it the most expensive sporting item ever traded on the platform.
This figure far surpassed the previous record set by Cristiano Ronaldo’s jersey from the Portugal vs Hungary match in 2025, which sold for nearly $75,000.
Tijmen Zonderwijk, co-founder of MatchWornShirtdescribed the $226,000 price tag for a single item as “exceptional”. He noted that the total funds raised from the auction of items from this year’s Winter Olympics would provide significant financial support to numerous Dutch sports clubs.
All proceeds from the auction of items from Team Netherlands at the 2026 Winter Olympics will be donated to the amateur clubs where the athletes began their careers. For Leerdam, this means the funds will go to IJsvereniging Pijnacker, the club where she first trained as a child, The Sun reported.
Johan van Dam, president of IJsvereniging Pijnacker, expressed excitement over the record-breaking auction, pledging that the club would carefully consider how to best utilize the meaningful contribution. Meanwhile, Jacqueline van Winden, who is in charge of the club’s youth section, added that the donation is significant and will help more children experience the joy of speed skating.
Leerdam was a standout performer at the 2026 Winter Olympics, winning gold in the 1,000 m event while setting a new Olympic record. The emotional image of her bursting into tears following her victory became one of the defining moments of the event in Italy.
At 27, Leerdam has established herself as a dominant force in professional speed skating since 2018, amassing one Olympic gold, two Olympic silver medals, and five world championship titles. Her combination of athletic dominance and charisma off the ice has earned her the nickname “Ice Queen” from Fox Sportswhile Reuters has dubbed her the “Social Media Queen.”
Leerdam’s profile expanded further after she publicly confirmed her relationship with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in 2023. The couple got engaged last year. Paul’s presence in the stands at the Winter Olympics also drew unprecedented global attention to the speed skating events.
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