A 47-year-old coach told a 26-year-old 女 gold medalist, "What's the point of winning a gold medal? I don't have a boyfriend..."

*This content was translated by AI.

It's an absurd remark. The coach's remarks at the event to celebrate the victory of Femke Kok (26, Netherlands), the women's 500m speed skater at the 2026 Milan/Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, have been embroiled in controversy over gender discrimination.

British media 'Daily Mail' reported on the 18th (Korea time) that "the joke thrown by Dennis Van Der Gunn (47), coach of the Dutch ice skating team, toward Coq is being strongly criticized online."

The incident occurred at the Dutch national team celebration held after Kok won the gold medal by breaking the Olympic record. According to multiple media reports, while praising Coq in front of his team members, Van Dugan said, "There's only one thing she doesn't have yet. That's a really nice boyfriend," he said.

At that time, it was confirmed that laughter mixed with boos broke out at the scene. Cox also turned it over as a light joke, but public opinion heated up when the remarks were made public.

On social networking services (SNS), netizens criticized the coach's remarks as anachronistic, saying, "I would never have said this to male athletes" and "evidence that gender discrimination still exists in 2026.

However, as the controversy spread, Femke Kok, the main character of the gold medal, actively defended the coach himself. "The celebration at the headquarters of the Dutch national team was the best," Kok said on his personal social media. "The coach said a lot of warm words," he said, expressing his displeasure, "I can't believe that the jokes that the people in the field and I took with fun are misunderstood online."

"Dennis is a great coach and human being with a big stake in my gold medal," Kok continued, "and he's someone who makes me feel completely comfortable and respected as a woman. Let's stop talking about people we don't know online and be a little kinder," he said.

Meanwhile, Kok rose to the top in the 500-meter race, beating Utah Lyrdam and Erin Jackson of the U.S., who were prominent fiancée of fellow and YouTuber Jake Paul.

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*This content was translated by AI.