Just before nine o’clock on Sunday morning, Maarten van der Weijden completed his eleven-city triathlon in Leeuwarden. The Olympic champion swam 200 kilometers, cycled 200 kilometers and walked 200 kilometers. The intention was to finish on Saturday, but due to fatigue that became Sunday morning.
The Olympic athlete, who now lives in Vught, took on this monster challenge to raise money for cancer research. According to the the foundation by Maarten van der Weijden, almost 1.9 million euros have been raised. This amount is doubled by main sponsor Reggeborgh, which means that there is more than 3.7 million on the counter.
The journey took exactly one week. Van der Weijden covered a total of 600 kilometers, swimming, cycling and walking. Every day the athlete received a lot of encouragement from people along the side. Afterwards, the Olympic swimming champion thanked everyone who supported him during his campaign.
Van der Weijden, who himself was cured of leukemia, has often participated in these types of events for the fight against cancer. . In 2018, Van der Weijden had to give up early when he held an eleven-city swimming tour. The following year he swam it out in 75 hours. In 2021 he even ventured into two actions. A home triathlon, in and around his own home. And he raised 80,000 euros with a four-day swimming trip.
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