Dutch Speed Skater Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong’s Husband’s Emotional Reaction On Her Gold Wins Internet Hearts

After winning a silver medal in team pursuit, Dutch speed skater Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong finally won the elusive gold medal in women’s 1500m.

Dutch Speed Skater Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong’s Husband’s Emotional Reaction On Her Gold Wins Internet Hearts

Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong, Coen Rijpma (Image via Boston 25 News, Screengrab via @olympics on Instagram)

In Short
  • Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong won her first Olympic gold medal in the women's 1500m speed skating event.
  • Her husband, Coen Rijpma, shared an emotional reaction online, celebrating her achievement.
  • The Netherlands dominated the speed skating events, securing a total of 10 gold medals in the Olympics.

In the women’s 1500m, the Netherlands’ Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong cruised to a blistering win in a pool of strong contenders. Jong, racing as the second to last pair with Team USA’s Brittany Bowe, finished six hundredths of a second better than Norway’s Ragne Wiklund to win her first Olympic gold medal.

The last pair, Japan’s Miho Takagi and Czechia’s Nikola Zdrahalova, couldn’t better the 1:54.09 mark set by Jong. It was a magical night for the 30-year-old who has been searching for the elusive gold since 2018. Jong added the gold to her two silvers and three bronze medals.

It was not just a magical night for Jong but also for her family and her husband, whose emotional reaction on realising after Jong was crowned champion has already won several hearts online.

Coen Rijpma, a former cyclist and healthcare coach, galloped straight to his in-laws, jumped in to join in on the group hug with welled-up eyes. He was also seen welling up at a later time and sending hearts like a proud husband.

The pair met in 2019, got engaged a year later, and married in the summer of 2022. Later, he also posted on Instagram, writing that he was beyond proud of what she has achieved amid tough obstacles in her way.

Femke Kok, who won gold in 1000m and silver in 500m, was one of the unfortunate ones in the fray. Kok, having not competed in a single 1500m race all season, had to race alone, which is a huge factor in speed skating.

In spite of the same, she ended up setting the fifth-best time, which was at a point the best for more than half the competition. It was Valerie Maltais, who eventually won bronze, who surpassed the time set by Kok as one of the racers in the tenth pair.

Meanwhile, Francesca Lollobrigida, who won two gold medals for Italy at Milano Cortina 2026, could only finish in 13th place. She also lost out on a podium in the mass start, finishing fourth.

The Dutch wrap up as the absolute dominant force in short track and long track

Across the short track and long track speed skating, the Netherlands has amassed 10 gold medals, dominating as the best-performing nation in both categories. The 10-gold medal haul has also bested their previous tally of eight gold medals in Sochi, PyeongChang, and Beijing.

Jens vant Wout
Jens van’t Wout impressed with four medals – three gold and a bronze in short track speed skating (Image via MeeMetOranje)

In short-track speed skating, the Dutch won five gold medals, a silver, and a bronze each. Jens van’ t Wout from Friesland bagged golds in the 1000m, 1500m, as well as the 5000m team relay. He also recorded a bronze in the 500m, where his older brother Melle van ‘t Wout won a silver medal.

Xandra Velzeboer won gold in the women’s 500m and 1000m. The Dutch ended the Eurasian dominance in the sport since it was introduced as a formal event in 1992 in Albertville. The Milano Cortina 2026 was the first time that the Dutch have been the best-performing nation in the sport, and the South Koreans in second place after two consecutive editions of being the best performer.

In long track, two gold medals on the last day of speed skating from Jorrit Bergsma and Marijke Groenewoud in the men’s and women’s mass start took their total to five golds. In addition to Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong, Femke Kok, and Jutta Leerdam had bagged gold medals in the 500m and 1000m, respectively.

6 silver medals and 2 bronze medals took their total to 13 medals from the sport, making it the medal tally leader in the sport for the fourth consecutive time. The sport which has added the most medals to the Dutch tally in Winter Olympics history saw them become the best performing nation for the first time in 1968 in Grenoble. This was their eighth time. The hosts, Italy, were the second-best with three gold and 2 bronze medals.

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