Maarten van der Weijden can’t complete 124-mile swimming route
Maarten van der Weijden
The Dutch swimmer beat leukemia and won an Olympic gold medal in Beijing, but even his powers of endurance weren’t enough to complete his latest challenge. Ill health on Monday forced Van der Weijden to halt his ambitious bid to swim the 124-mile route of an iconic speedskating race in the northern Netherlands, bringing to a premature end a fundraising feat that had enthralled his home nation. Van der Weijden, 37, had swum 101 miles since Saturday morning. “I gave it everything — then you are totally empty,” he said. His swim raised just more than $2.86 million for cancer research.
The Dutch swimmer beat leukemia and won an Olympic gold medal in Beijing, but even his powers of endurance weren’t enough to complete his latest challenge. Ill health on Monday forced Van der Weijden to halt his ambitious bid to swim the 124-mile route of an iconic speedskating race in the northern Netherlands, bringing to a premature end a fundraising feat that had enthralled his home nation. Van der Weijden, 37, had swum 101 miles since Saturday morning. “I gave it everything — then you are totally empty,” he said. His swim raised just more than $2.86 million for cancer research.