What many peers should no longer think of, 88-year-old Albert van der Bergh from Nijeveen still battle with other swimmers during the City Swim Meppel yesterday. Every day he can be found in the water to maintain his condition, but he is not quickly satisfied with his own performance. “A bit difficult.”
1400 meters in 42 minutes, with that time Van der Bergh crossed the finish line in Meppel yesterday. “I now participated for the third time and was one minute slower than the last time.”
Swimming has always meant a lot to Van der Bergh, who settled in Drenthe later in life. “Seventy years ago I swam a lot of competitions. When I lived in Amsterdam I participated in the Amsterdam championships, and I also participated in the Benelux championships.”
Seventy years later, the love for the water is still there. “It is the independent of gravity. Of course, if you don’t do anything you sink to the bottom. But with relatively little effort you continue to float. It is actually bathing, but at the same time exercising. And the feeling of the water on your body, I like that too.”
Text continues under photo.