Cristiano Ronaldo. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

원본보기 아이콘

원본보기 아이콘

원본보기 아이콘

Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands, who won the gold medal in the women’s 1000m speed skating event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, saw the uniform she wore during the actual race sold at auction for approximately 330 million won.

On March 1 (local time), Dutch media outlet NL Times reported that the signed uniform worn by Leerdam at the Olympic race was auctioned for 195,000 euros (about 333.64 million won).

The auction was jointly hosted by the Netherlands Olympic Committee and the sports uniform specialty auction platform MatchWornShirt, targeting items donated by national Olympic athletes. Up until just one hour before the auction closed, the uniform's price had not even reached 10,000 euros, but as two bidders fiercely competed at the last minute, the amount surged and the final price approached 200,000 euros.

Tijs Men Zonderwijk, CEO of MatchWornShirt, said in an interview with local media, "This is a very unusual amount for a single item," adding, "Leerdam's racing uniform set the highest price in our platform's history." He further explained, "Even world-class footballer Cristiano Ronaldo's uniform has never reached this level." While the identity of the winning bidder was not disclosed, the auction platform revealed that the individual is of Dutch nationality. Most of the sales proceeds are expected to be donated to the skating club where Leerdam trained as a child.

Yuta Leerdam of the Netherlands, who won the gold medal in the women's 1000m speed skating event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Right after winning, she became a sensation for her celebration of unzipping the top of her uniform. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

원본보기 아이콘

Previously, Leerdam set a new Olympic record of 1 minute 12.31 seconds in the women's 1000m event held last month in Milan, Italy, capturing the gold medal. Immediately after her victory was confirmed, she performed a celebratory gesture by unzipping the top of her racing suit, revealing a white sports bra and drawing widespread attention.

According to the British media outlet The Sun, citing analyses by marketing experts, the scene generated massive publicity for sports brand Nike via its social media channels, with the marketing value estimated at around 1 million dollars (about 1.4 billion won).

Meanwhile, ahead of the event, Leerdam faced criticism for her attitude after she arrived in Milan on her boyfriend’s private jet and uploaded posts to social media showing herself watching the Olympic opening ceremony from her accommodation.