Elfstedentocht Swim 2.0 Has Begun
Elfstedentocht Swim 2.0 Has Begun
Courtesy of Marten van der Weijden Foundation, Netherlands.After swimming 163 km over 55 hours in his native Netherlands last year in an unprecedented attempt to swim the Elfstedentocht course, 2008 Olympic 10K marathon swim champion Maarten van der Weijden has begun his second attempt at the Elfstedentocht Swim.
His Elfstedentocht Swim previously generated over €5 million euros in an 11-city charity swim – to date, Van der Weijden’s effort represents the greatest amount of proceeds from a single charity open water swim in history.
The former leukemia survivor – the only leukemia survivor to win an Olympic medal – raises money for research into cancer, a disease that he suffered himself where he once lost half his body weight. “He is a champion in every sense of the word,” observed Steven Munatones. “He is such a talented individual who continues to give so much to his community, to those who suffer from cancer, and to many others who welcome his unique form of inspiration. Maarten is simply remarkable.“
For more information and to follow his progress on the nearly 200 km Eleven City Swim, visit www.11stedenzwemtocht.nl.
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Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
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