Bisexual Speed Skater Ireen Wüst Now Has The Most Medals Of Any LGBT Olympian In History
Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst took home her 10th Olympic medal today, the most won by any out LGBT Olympian.
The 31-year-old speed skater teared up after winning the gold in the Women’s 1500-meter race, just hours after out Canadian figure skater Eric Radford became the first openly gay man to win a gold medal at a Winter Olympics.
Wüst already won silver medal in the 3,000-meter event Saturday, making her the first the first out medalist at Pyeongchang. She now holds a total of five gold medals, four silver, and a bronze.
"My dream was to have four Olympics," Wüst told Reuters on Saturday, after losing to countrywoman Carlijn Achtereekte in the 3,000-meter race.
Wüst, who previously gold medals in Turin, Vancouver and Sochi, admitted "I‘m always determined for gold, but maybe now a little extra."
That determination paid off: She finished today's 1500-meter race in one minute, 54.35 seconds, just edging out Japan's Miho Takagi for first place.
With today’s win, Wüst, who publicly announced her relationship with girlfriend Letitia de Jong in 2017, also became the all-time Olympic medal leader in her sport.
She's also a six-time world speed skating champion, the youngest person from the Netherlands to become an Olympic champion, and the first Dutch athlete to win five Olympic gold medals.
"I‘m feeling really happy and I still cannot believe it," she beamed. "For me, it’s incredible."
Correction: In an earlier version of this story, we incorrectly reported that Wüst was married to partner Letitia de Jong. We apologize for the error.