MILAN (AP) — Olympic speedskating champions Jutta Leerdam and Jordan Stolz heard a rumor — one that was false at the time — that they had trained together. At first, they just joked about it. And then they decided to go and skate some laps with each other, just for fun.
After getting a silver medal in the women's 500 meters at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Sunday to go alongside her earlier gold in the 1,000, Leerdam was asked about all of the noise around her, which includes extra attention because of her fiancé, YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
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Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands took a silver medal in the women's 500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Jake Paul of the U.S. screams as his fiancée Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands celebrates with her silver medal on the podium of the women's 500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Gold medallist Jordan Stolz of the U.S. celebrates after the men's 500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands took a silver medal in the women's 500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
“It's not easy, especially with the media and stuff, because they want stories. And if they don’t have stories, they make up stories. Sorry. Not everyone. So that is sometimes hard to deal with as an athlete if you just want to focus on skating fast,” said Leerdam, who is from the Netherlands. “That is something I hope maybe changes for future, other athletes, because it’s kind of hard to deal. But for me, I’m very good at dealing with it. Because just push it aside and focus on what I can do, which is skate fast.”
Then she was asked for an example of a made-up story during these Winter Olympics.
“Me training with Jordan Stolz. That wasn’t even a thing,” Leerdam said. “And then we were like, ‘Oh. We should maybe do that.’ So then we trained together.”
She said they discussed it while riding adjacent stationary bikes last week in Milan.
“We were like, ’Well, maybe I should do some laps behind you.' He was like, ‘Perfect. Fine,’” recounted Leerdam, who has millions of followers on social media.
So they got on the ice for some practice, with her trailing Stolz around the rink. The American has won gold medals in the men's 500 and 1,000 so far, and has two more events left at these Games.
“He’s super good at skating. I understand his timing when you skate behind someone. It can always help,” Leerdam said. “But my timing was already pretty set. And it was just for a few laps. It was just interesting that it was all made up — and it ended up working pretty well.”
Asked whether the people in her inner circle can handle the attention as well as she can, Leerdam said with a smile: “My parents and everyone is kind of used to it. My fiancé is definitely used to it. He loves it. He will use it for a good cause.”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands took a silver medal in the women's 500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Jake Paul of the U.S. screams as his fiancée Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands celebrates with her silver medal on the podium of the women's 500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Gold medallist Jordan Stolz of the U.S. celebrates after the men's 500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands took a silver medal in the women's 500 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son in 2013, apologizing profusely to her older son who survived with multiple stab wounds and witnessed the execution.
Cedric Ricks, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT following a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
He was condemned for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was stabbed 25 times and feigned death in order to survive.
Ricks apologized repeatedly to seven relatives of his victims who looked on, particularly Marcus Figueroa. The attack survivor showed no emotion, watching through a glass window just steps from where Ricks was strapped to a gurney. On the back of Marcus Figueroa’s neck, visible above his shirt collar and below his hair, were several scars apparently from the attack.
“I want to say that I’m sorry for taking Roxann and Anthony from y’all,” Ricks said when asked by the warden if he had a final statement. “I’m glad to be able to speak to tell y'all that face to face.”
He said he hoped one day that his victims’ relatives would be able to find it in their hearts to forgive him. He also addressed Marcus Figueroa, saying he hated that he took his mother and brother away.
“I always thought about you and I’m sorry that I took your mom and your brother away. I hate that you had to experience that, I just can’t imagine, but I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done, and I wish y’all peace and joy as much as you can but I’m sorry, that’s all I can say," Ricks said. His voice cracking and tear forming in his eye, he added that he hoped to find the woman and her son in heaven and “tell them I'm sorry face to face.”
“I hope y’all go in peace. I really do. I’m sorry," he concluded before the injection began.
As the drug took effect, he took 19 quick breaths, then made 10 snoring sounds, followed seconds later by some intermittent gurgles. Then all movement and sounds stopped, and he was pronounced dead 30 minutes after the injection had begun.
Among the other witnesses were Roxann Sanchez’s stepfather and brother, and Anthony Figueroa’s father, brother and grandmother. None of them showed any emotion in the death chamber witness area and declined to speak with reporters afterward.
The night of the killings, prosecutors said, Ricks and Sanchez had been arguing in their apartment when the woman's two sons from a previous marriage tried to break up the fight. Ricks grabbed a knife from the kitchen and began to stab Sanchez multiple times, court records showed.
Marcus Figueroa ran to his bedroom closet and tried to call police. After killing Anthony Figueroa, Ricks began stabbing Marcus Figueroa, who played dead until his attacker left the apartment, authorities said. Ricks did not harm his own then-9-month-old son Isaiah, according to court records. Ricks fled and was later arrested in Oklahoma.
At his ensuing capital murder trial, Ricks testified that he had anger issues and had been defending himself against the two boys after they had come to their mother’s defense.
“Explaining my rage, I was upset. Things happen. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I wish I could bring them back, like, right now,” said Ricks, who also apologized at the time for the killings.
A day before the stabbings, Ricks had appeared in court after having been charged with assaulting Sanchez during a previous incident.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Ricks' final appeal without comment. His attorneys had argued that prosecutors violated Ricks’ constitutional rights by eliminating potential jurors on the basis of race while selecting the trial panel.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office said court records show the prosecution’s jury selection decisions were “race neutral” and lower courts have already concluded that prosecutors’ actions were not discriminatory.
And earlier this week, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Ricks’ request to commute his death sentence or grant a 90-day reprieve.
Ricks was the second person put to death this year in Texas and the sixth in the country. Texas has historically held more executions than any other state.
Charles “Sonny” Burton, a 75-year-old inmate in Alabama, had been scheduled for execution Thursday. But Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday commuted his death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Burton had been condemned for a fatal shooting during a 1991 robbery at an auto parts store even though he didn’t pull the trigger.
Lozano reported from Houston. Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70
This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Texas death row inmate Cedric Ricks. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)
This undated photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Texas death row inmate Cedric Ricks. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP)
