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South China Morning Post

Who is Joy Beune, world champion speed skater and Playboy Netherlands cover girl? The Dutch athlete says she took the chance to boost her sport as well as her self-image

Last year, Playboy Netherlands debuted a new blonde bombshell on the cover of its December issue, and it proved so popular they had to order a reprint. The surprise is that the woman posing nude is not a model but 2024 women's World Allround Speed Skating Champion, Joy Beune. The 25-year-old Dutch skater, who bagged further individual and team world titles at the World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships in March, posed in nothing but a pair of gloves, radiating a confident glow but never expecting that her shoot would attraction so much attention. Advertisement 'I expected a lot of criticism, but I only hear nice messages from everyone around me and that they think it's incredibly cool,' she told Bild. So, what else do we know about Joy Beune? She started ice skating young Joy Beune of the Netherlands with the silver medal for the women's 1,500 metres at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Beijing, in November 2024. Photo: AP Born in the town of Borne, Beune started skating at a very young age. The sport interested her in junior school, and she also took up cycling and rollerblading in the off-season, per Friends in Europe. By the age of 18, she was a world junior champion, winning the title in Salt Lake City, USA and setting several world records. Last year's world title also earned her recognition from her hometown of Borne with an award and even pastries with her picture on them. Beune is now aiming for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. She struggled with her body image