On sports sites in the Netherlands there is a rather obscure word Schaatsen, which is speed skating. This winter, however, emotions about this sport poured out in an unknown direction. For the first time in its history, the local edition of Playboy had to be reprinted. Simply because the entire circulation was bought in 6 days. And it wasn’t some model or actress on the cover. And the 25-year-old speed skater Yoi Bene. Gloves only.
“Pijper Media has been publishing the magazine for the last 11 years. And nothing like this has ever happened. With books it has happened, but with a magazine – not,” Playboy editor-in-chief Nick Stolker described the situation to AD.
“It’s a very pleasant feeling. I didn’t expect that so many copies would be sold,” says Yoi herself about the incredible interest.
Bene has 300,000 followers on social media. And she is known not only for her amazing figure.
Yoi started training at the age of 9, and at 18 she already had an achievement at the girls’ world championship. At 3000 meters she also set a record of 4:35.90 min. She beats compatriots Sane in’t Hof and Jutta Leerdam, but the big title goes to Jutta from the results of all disciplines.
In 2018 at the Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City, Bene is now the fastest at 1000, 1500 and 3000 meters. And on each of them he sets world records 1:14.21, 1:54.21 and 3:59.47 minutes. Leerdam remained second in all three, and Benet triumphed in the general classification also with a world record. And he also won the team pursuit with Yuta and Eliza Dull.
But when it goes to women, the problems begin. In 2023, the Netherlands was twice disqualified from the pursuit because of the beauty. At the worlds in front of their home crowd in Heerenveen Bene, Irene Schouten and Mareika Grunewaud finished first but were cut for a ridiculous reason. Yei did not cover her ankles properly and was in violation of the dress code. During the start for the world cup in Tomaszów-Mazowiecki, she did not put on the transponder, which is mandatory for reporting the result. The three are first again, but their score never appears on the scoreboard. Because of this, coach Rinte Ritsma announced that Bene needed a babysitter.
“I was looking for the transplonders before the race, but they weren’t there. Someone had put them away. The rules are clear, but I decided to start. I don’t understand anything. And now I can’t say anything important. It’s my fault again,” she said after the accident.
But this year things have turned around. Back in January, she won her first World Cup start, clocking 3:56.86 in Salt Lake City for 3,000 meters and setting a personal best at the distance.
At the individual distance world championships in February in Calgary, Bennet won two gold medals – in the 5,000 meters and the team pursuit, plus a bronze in the 1,500 meters.
The World All-around Championship in Inzel turns into a complete triumph for the Dutch woman. She set track records at 1,500 and 3,000 meters, and also won at 5,000 meters. And she becomes a world champion.
The name Yoi is actually the English Joy, which means joy. But in the Netherlands it is pronounced differently. And she’s happy with how she looks.
“There were times when I compared myself to the other female skaters. They’re all slim, they have a body like a string. I thought I was a little fat. Some people think that if you’re lighter, you’ll be faster. That’s complete nonsense. If you don’t eat, you don’t have energy for training,” she thinks.
Men’s magazines have long paid attention to Bene. FHM named her the sexiest sportswoman in the Netherlands for 2020. And of course, with a provocative photo shoot.
“It took me a while to get used to it. Because it doesn’t fit into my comfort zone. But the more the filming went on, the more I liked it and the more I liked it. The result was just amazing. It was even weird that it was me. Of course I’m proud to have such a figure. I train every day for this. But not for a perfect body, but to skate faster,” she says. And he points to his most beautiful feature – his eyes. With a particularly green color.
He is the boyfriend of his co-star Kieldom Newsom. He is a three-time Olympic champion from PyeongChang and Beijing. Because of her, he ditches Miss Netherlands 2011 Jill de Robles, with whom he has a son.
It was he who pushed her to accept Playboy’s offer, Bene explained to RTL. “You have to agree! When you get older, you will be able to look at the pictures and say to yourself – that’s what I did!”.
For Yoi, the photographs were incredible because they left a lot to the imagination. However, she clearly left very little for the fans to buy the issue.