When Maarten van der Weijden was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 19, he thought it was not only the end of his sporting career, but his life. According to Maarten, he was a “lazy” patient and didn’t “win a fight” against cancer; he says he survived simply because he was “lucky”. But having been given a second chance at life, he was determined to make the most of it.
Just a few years after recovering from cancer, Maarten won open-water swimming gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He reveals the techniques and mindset that got him through his darkest days, and the significance of setting goals in order to achieve things, whether that be in sport or life.
He retired from competitive swimming after winning Olympic and World championship gold in 2008, and dedicated himself to raising funds for other leukaemia sufferers by completing the most severe of swimming challenges. So far, he has raised more than $15 million.
Carrie Steinseifer-Bates: Swimming was her escape
Jared Tallent: Fighting the drug cheat
Kaleigh Gilchrist: In the name of Kobe
Nikita Ducarroz: The power of sport
Yip Pin Xiu: Swimming for gold
Santiago Lange: Sailing to gold
Breanna Stewart: Shooting for gold
Denny Morrison: Coming back from tragedy
Birgit Skarstein: Paralympic role model
Molly Seidel: The unlikely medallist
Introducing On the Podium season 3
Markus Rogan: Life after medals
Jaleen Roberts: Medals and wellbeing
Andrew Hoy
Salum Kashafali: The fastest Paralympian on Earth
Anna Kiesenhofer: Alone against the odds
Neeraj Chopra: Inspiring India
Raven Saunders: Making a statement on the podium
Dr Jana Pittman: Sprinting, sliding and saving lives
Anastasia Pagonis: Gold medal influencer
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