Ivanie Blondin may have brought home some gold and silver from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t use a little help paying the bills.
After seeing that Jutta Leerdam’s race suit from the Games had sold in an online auction for more than US$230Gs , the Canadian speedskating star joked on social media about selling her own outfit to help pay her mortgage.
“Damn, does anyone want to buy mine for half that so I can pay for my mortgage?” Blondin’s X account posted in reply to the Toronto Sun’s story on Saturday.
The Team Netherlands outfit that Leerdam wore while winning gold in the 1,000 metres — and creating a viral moment in the process — and silver in the 500-metre event went up for auction after she had finished competing at the 2026 Winter Games, with bidding taking place over the course of a week.
With the virtual gavel coming down Saturday morning, one bidder splurged $230,441 for the race suit, which is signed by Leerdam and had been put on display at the Staatsloterij TeamNL House in Milan during the Games.
Bidding had sat around $10,000 for a few days until near the deadline at 9 a.m. on Saturday when things exploded. In just minutes, two competing bidders caused the price to skyrocket into six figures, before culminating at the final total.
The 27-year-old speedskating star went viral during the 2026 Winter Games, unzipping the front of her uniform to reveal a Nike sports bra after winning the first Olympic gold of her career.
Leerdam, who is engaged to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, reportedly could have earned more than $1 million from the celebration after Nike posted an image of the emotional Dutchwoman on their Instagram feed.
If Blondin does decide to put her own Olympic race suit up for auction, it’s unclear what sort of price it would fetch. While Leerdam’s suit went for a rather large amount, suits worn by her teammates — fellow medallists Femke Kok, Antoinette Rijpma-De-Jong and Merel Conjin — sold at just a fraction of the price. Kok’s tights — the next most-expensive item in the grouping — went for $5,675.
It should also be noted that the athletes themselves won’t be pocketing anything from the auctions, with proceeds going to the local clubs where they got their starts.
Blondin’s golden moment
Canadian Blondin had a viral moment of her own at the 2026 Winter Games, requesting — and getting — Shania Twain’s Man! I Feel Like a Woman! played in the Milano Speed Skating Stadium after winning gold with teammates Isabelle Weidemann and Valerie Maltais in the women’s long-track team pursuit.
In fact, the Canadians beat Leerdam’s Dutch teammates — Joy Beune, Marijke Groenewoud and Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong – in the final for the gold.
As for the truly Canadian musical choice, Blondin said after the celebration that Twain is one of her favourite country music artists and that is why she wanted to hear her song after winning the gold once again.
“I’d love to meet her one day,” Blondin said. “Just putting that out there!”
Blondin also won the silver medal in the mass start event in Italy, bringing her career Olympic medal total to four. The 35-year-old Ottawa native also won a gold and silver in the same events during the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
Leerdam’s massive potential payday
Leerdam was one of the biggest stars of the Olympics, earning two medals and capturing the attention of fans around the world.
And she might have raked in roughly $1 million for simply unzipping the front of her uniform post-race.
According to one advertising expert, Nike – whose sports bra was on display as Leerdam celebrated her in the 1,000m speed skating event last week – could be forking over big bucks to the blonde beauty.
After winning the event last Monday, breaking the Olympic record in the process, Leerdam unzipped her racing suit to show off the white Nike undergarment as she cooled down after the tough race.
As the image of the emotional Leerdam went viral, Nike posted an image of her celebration on the company’s official Instagram account – which boasts nearly 300 million followers.
According to Frederique de Laat, founder of Branthlete – a marketing agency specializing in female athlete advertising – the 27-year-old Dutchwoman could be heavily compensated through her brand deal.
“With Nike, I suspect you’re looking at a figure of over a million,” de Laat told Dutch news outlet AD, per the Daily Mail.