The Hague, Netherlands • Maarten van der Weijden beat leukemia and went on to win an Olympic gold swimming 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 200-kilometer (124-mile) route of an iconic speed skating race in the northern Netherlands, bringing to a premature end a fund-raising feat that had enthralled his home nation.
Van der Weijden had swum 163 kilometers (101 miles) since plunging into a canal in the northern city of Leeuwarden early Saturday morning.