Ahead of Sunday evening’s Olympic women’s 500-meter speedskating event in Milan, the orange-wearing Dutch supporters at the venue—where roughly 94.7% of long-track spectators have Dutch ties—openly shared their hoped-for outcome: a reversal of finishing positions.

, who set an Olympic record on Feb. 9 in the 1000 meters—and, as you’ve likely heard, is engaged to social media influencer-slash-boxer —already had her gold. The hope was she’d take second in the 500, which is her teammate’s specialty, the 1000-meter silver medalist. Dutch fans were fully behind Kok for the shorter sprint. It was Kok’s time to claim her prize.

Additionally, many Dutch fans don’t appear too fond of Leerdam’s famous fiancé. ‘He’s a bit too over-the-top for the Dutch,’ says Yvette Reijtenbagh, who wore an orange beanie stitched with the Netherlands flag. (When asked if she was from the Netherlands, she replied dryly, ‘No. Iceland.’)

‘He’s showy,’ says Else Baartman, 57, a secretary from the country’s northern region. ‘He’s somewhat excessive,’ observes Daniel Houben, a 37-year-old actuary originally from Holland now residing in Switzerland. Houben may have witnessed Paul’s arrival at the Milan Speed Skating Stadium, flanked by a six-person entourage, including two massive security guards and someone recording his every move.

In contrast to the men’s 500 and 1000 races, which Americanwon over Dutch competitor Jenning de Boo in dramatic fashion, Team Netherlands departed content on Sunday. Kok, who has dominated the 500 all season, set her own Olympic record; her 36.49-second time also marks the new fastest sea-level performance ever. Her winning margin over silver medalist Leerdam represents the largest in the 500-meter event since the 1972 Sapporo Games.

‘We’re a very small country,’ says Kok. ‘But we can do speedskating.’

Undoubtedly. Stolz’s pursuit of four gold medals is capturing most of the sport’s Olympic headlines. Yet across long-track and short-track, the Netherlands leads the standings in Milan: the Dutch have claimed 5 gold medals and 11 total (Italy ranks second, with 3 golds and 5 total medals).

American the defending Olympic champion, placed fifth. She skated alongside Kok in the final pairing. Jackson’s powerful first 100 meters—she described it as the best start of her career—put her in medal contention. However, Jackson tripped exiting a turn and couldn’t make up sufficient time to reach the podium. ‘For her to basically accomplish what I did in the last Olympic cycle, arrive as the top-ranked skater, win consistently, and then deliver at the Olympics, yeah, it’s really incredible,’ says Jackson.

The Dutch champions have different public profiles. Kok maintains a more understated presence than her teammate. Her Instagram posts mostly showcase life on the ice: one thumbnail shows in a produce section. You can find however, on a private jet, relaxing at a resort with Paul, or during a fashion shoot. This may partly explain why Leerdam has 6.2 million followers on the platform, while

They do express mutual admiration. ‘We wanted to push each other to the highest level,’ says Kok. With two Olympic records between them, mission accomplished. ‘She’s a different person than me, but we’re still good, you know?’ says Kok. ‘In the beginning, when we emerged, the media was like creating this narrative, ‘oh, she’s this, you’re that.’ But we’re not like that. We have respect.’

It helps that Leerdam, who will depart Milan with two medals, has fully earned her fame. ‘She’s a phenomenon,’ says American Sarah Warren. ‘She had a lot of attention on her, and she delivered, and she withstood the pressure.’

Leerdham faces a different kind of challenge than her competitors, specifically tabloid scrutiny. ‘It’s not always easy, especially with the media, because they want stories, and if they don’t have stories, they invent them,’ she says. ‘That’s sometimes difficult to handle as an athlete, when you just want to focus on skating fast or on your races.’ Leerdam references a rumor suggesting she and Stolz were training together. She actually considered it a good idea, so she and Stolz did skate a few laps, she says, roughly a week ago.

Someone asked Leerdham, now that the competition has concluded, whether she intended to enjoy Milan in the days ahead. ‘I don’t really know yet what the plan is,’ says Leerdham. ‘We will see.’

Chances are, we’ll all find out soon enough.