Leerdam open about menstrual complaints after a unique victory: ‘You become insecure’

• Joost Smedema

  NOS editor in Calgary

It felt like a fever attack. She was nauseous, cramped, sat on the bike with a much too high heart rate and then lay in bed, exhausted.

Jutta Leerdam’s Saturday was downright lousy. And yet, a day later in Calgary, she became the first Dutch woman ever to win a World Cup race over 1,000 meters for the fourth time in a row.

With a lead of more than six tenths over Olympic champion Miho Takagi – it seemed as if nothing was wrong.

Her numbers are getting more impressive by the week. Since 2016/2017, her debut season with the seniors, Leerdam has won more than half of her 1,000 meters: 65 rides, 33 victories.

Leerdam wins in Calgary, takes fourth World Cup victory at 1,000 meters

And with her fourth World Cup triumph in a row this winter, she equals Ireen Wüst and Femke Kok, the only other Dutch women who ever succeeded. With the side note that Wüst achieved her victories in two different seasons and Kok dominated when the Asian sprint top was missing due to the corona crisis.

Leerdam reigns. Shortly after the race in the Calgary Olympic Oval, she was pretty much through it, more than usual. After a lap and a half, she plopped down on one of the cushions along the entry lane. She couldn’t sit anymore, she dropped and lay there for a few seconds before she could get up again.

“I became very light-headed. Also a little dizzy, so I could hardly stand in front of the camera.” During the television interview, Leerdam waved her hand, looking for a breath of fresh air.

She later explained where the fainting came from. “I had a very bad period on Saturday and lost a lot of blood. I was so sick this time.”

Leerdam falters a bit after golden 1,000 meters: ‘See completely black spots’

You rarely hear about it from top athletes. Explanations for disappointing performance, a bad day or a lesser form are not often aloud linked to menstrual complaints. “I actually wanted to say it in front of the camera, because it is a thing in sports.”

Leerdam has no problem talking about the delicate subject. “Oh no, I come from a very open family, everything is negotiable with us. That makes it very easy for me.”

“If you’re not fit for an important tournament because of this, it’s actually super difficult, because you can’t help it,” she says. “Saturday I was in bed, I was completely disabled. On Sunday I had to perform at the highest level. It is good for myself that I was able to recover. Despite the fact that it makes me quite insecure, because you are not fit.”

I had no influence on it. I hate that.

The unpredictability also turns the physical discomfort into a mental challenge. “I find it quite difficult that I was just sick of it.”

“And I had no control over it. I hate that. When you’re sick, you can’t control it either. But once every few times I have that monthly cycle, it’s really intense, and that was exactly this weekend .”

As a result, her unique series of victories was at risk. “I was thinking, how am I going to get to that four out of four?”

But on the day of the 1,000 meters, the complaints decreased again. “I really felt better, but the 500 meters (on Friday, ed.) Didn’t go very well either, so you don’t have much confidence. I thought: just do it, just skate well and then we’ll see.”

Leerdam has never been so dominant in a season before. Before this winter, the counter in terms of World Cup victories was only one.

In February she took silver at the Olympic Games, then Leerdam made the switch to Jumbo-Visma. A new environment in which the 2020 world champion in the kilometer has become, as she describes it, “stably strong”.

“Without being too rude, I am stronger than the trainers would normally make me. And it’s not that I shoot out every time, my basic level is just high. Then you can still win with a slightly lesser ride. “

Because I have become so strong, I have much more balance in my stroke.

That basic level is higher with Jac Orie’s team than it was in the past under other guidance. “They let me reach my potential a little more, without being afraid that I would become too strong. It was always: you shouldn’t be too strong, it’s about the balance. But precisely because I’ve become so strong , I have much more balance in my stroke.”

Thanks to this sophisticated balance, Leerdam manages to achieve a hundred percent score in the World Cup at her favorite distance, even despite severe menstrual complaints.

“Last week I was still super fit. I thought: it shouldn’t be gone. Still, I didn’t expect this. There were a few mistakes in my ride, but my basic level is still high enough to be with six, seven tenths difference to win.”