Ireen Wust Wiki: Speed Skater, Net Worth, Youngest Dutch Olympic Champion & Facts To Know

Ireen Wust was born in 1986. She is a Dutch long track all-round speed skater. Wust is the youngest Dutch Olympic Champion in the history of Winter Games. Wust won a gold medal in 2006 at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games 3000-meter event at only 19 years of age. After four years, Wust again won the 1500 meter event at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. In 2014, Wust won two gold and three silver medals at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. She not only made her country proud but also became the most decorated athlete at the Sochi Games. Recently, at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, Wust won the 1500 meter event. Wust has made a record of ten Olympic medals which are greater than any other speed skater, thereby making her the most successful athlete of Netherlands at the Olympics. The Netherlands native is also a six-time world allround champion and a twelve-time world single distance champion. Ireen Wust was elected by Reuters as the Sportswoman of the world. Wüst openly claims to be bisexual. In March 2017, Wüst revealed that she is in a relationship with fellow skater Letitia de Jong.

Wust made her debut in speed skating at the 2004 KNSB Dutch Single Distance Championships in the month of November 2003. She got the 9th place in the 500 m and 1500 m events. Wüst debuted at the 2004 KNSB Dutch Single Distance Championships in November 2003 with ninth place in both the 500m and 1500m events. The next season she got qualified for the 2004–05 World Cup at the 2005 KNSB Dutch Single Distance Championships winning the fifth place in the 1000m and fourth place in the 1500m. She also got a third place at the 2005 KNSB Dutch Allround Championships thereby qualifying for her first international senior tournament, i.e., the 2005 European Championships in Heerenveen. There she came fourth and secured herself a spot in the Dutch team for the 2005 World Allround Championships in Moscow, Russia, where she managed to finish in the fifth place. After that, she became World Junior Champion in Seinäjoki, Finland. At the 2006 KNSB Dutch Single Distance Championships, which also served as the Olympic Trials, Wüst ended up winning the 1000m, 1500m and 3000m, securing a spot in the Dutch Olympic Team for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. At the 2006 Winter Olympic Games 3000-meter, her first distance was the 3000 meters where Wust became the youngest Olympic champion from the Netherlands in the history of the Winter Olympics. After the end of the season Wüst was elected as the best Dutch Sportswoman of the Year 2006. She was also elected the female skater of the year. At the 2006/2007 season, Wust won two titles and a second position right at the beginning of the 2007 Dutch Distance Championships. She won the 2007 Dutch Allround Championships too. At the 2007 World Distance Championships she won the gold medal in 1000m, breaking the national record, and another in the 1500m. Her season of 2007/2008 started with some difficulty. She later won the European allround title in January 2008. In Nagano at the 2008 World Distance Championships, Wust won the gold medal in a team game alongside Groenewold and Van Deutekom. Wüst could win only one world race this season, the 1500m in Hamar. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she won a gold medal in the 1500 meters. At the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Wust won gold medals in the 3000 metres and in the team pursuit, and silver medals in the 1000m, 1500m and 5000m. At the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, she won a gold medal in the 1500 metres and a silver medal in the 3000 metres. She was beaten out by Takagi, a fellow Dutch skater Jorien ter Mors and several others in the Women’s 1000m. This was the fourth Olympics in a row in which she won an individual gold medal, the first time this was ever achieved by a Winter Olympian. On winning, she was quoted saying, "It's incredible. It is 12 years since my first gold medal in Turin (2006 Games), my fifth gold medal, my 10th Olympic medal. I started my own team three years ago with only one goal; win the gold in the Olympics again. It worked out this way and it's incredible."

Ireen Wust's estimated net worth is $2 million.

All Ireen Wust's fans can follow her on her official page on Instagram @ireenw where she uploads a lot of her latest photos from events and competitions. She can be followed on her Twitter handle @Ireenw wherein she posts her personal opinions and latest photos too. Social media websites like Twitter and Instagram help us remain updated with the latest information about our favorite celebrities. Wust has been skating away to glory in winter events and Olympics year after year. She has done her country proud, her parents proud and is herself quite happy with her achievements.