The more than 200 participants in the exhausting Swim Challenge raised 135,000 euros on Saturday for the UMCG Cancer Research Fund.
More than 150 swimmers dived into the water at Lauwersoog on Saturday morning around half past five. They took part in the Ultra Swim, which is fifteen kilometers longer than the Classic Swim, which started an hour later in Zoutkamp. In addition, there was also a City Swim in the Westerhaven. The first swimmers arrived in Groningen’s Oosterhaven around 6 p.m.
Fifty kilometers of swimming from Lauwersoog to Groningen
One of them was Leon van Doornik (46) from Utrecht and a former student of Industrial Engineering and Management at the University of Groningen. Our team consisted of six people. We participated in the Ultra Swim. Went fine, but starting at half past five was quite heavy. We each swam for twenty minutes and then you had about a hundred minutes of rest in the following boat.”
More than a million euros for Cancer Research Fund
The previous edition raised 160,000 euros. In total, more than one million euros have been raised. ,,We are proud of what we have achieved, but we also know that there is so much more to do”, says organizer Johan Broesder.
After the race, all participants received a glass of Nobeltje in addition to a medal. With the compliments of Ameland.