Former Olympic and world champion Maarten van der Weijden started an extreme triathlon in the Dutch province of Friesland this morning (June 18). He will swim 200 kilometers, cycle 200 kilometers, and run another 200 kilometers. He wants to cover these 600 kilometers in six days, with almost no rest in between.

"He does this Here is the famous 200-kilometer-long Elfstedenroute, originally a skating route that passes all eleven cities in the province", explained Anton, the filmer of this video.

"With this bizarre journey, Van der Weijden wants to raise as much money as possible for cancer research".

Many tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected along the entire route to cheer on the athlete.

"If all goes according to plan, it will take him three days to swim the 200 kilometers. When he arrives back in Leeuwarden on Wednesday, he gets on his bike to cover the route. That same evening he starts walking, that's the plan. On Saturday he would have completed the entire triathlon".

LEEUWARDEN - Former Olympic and world champion Maarten van der Weijden started an extreme triathlon this morning. He will swim 200 kilometers, cycle 200 kilometers and run another 200 kilometers. He wants to cover these 600 kilometers in six days, with almost no rest in between.

He does this in the Dutch province of Friesland. Here is the famous 200 kilometer long Elfstedenroute, originally a skating route that passes all eleven cities in the province. With this bizarre journey, Van der Weijden wants to raise as much money as possible for cancer research. Many tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected along the entire route to cheer on the athlete.

Schedule

If all goes according to plan, it will take him three days to swim the 200 kilometers. When he arrives back in Leeuwarden on Wednesday, he gets on his bike to cover the route. That same evening he starts walking, that's the plan. On Saturday he would have completed the entire triathlon.

Previous attempts

In 2018, van der Weijden made a first attempt to complete the Elfstedentocht by swimming, but after 163 kilometers he had to stop due to his health. In 2019 he made another attempt to swim the 200 kilometers, which he succeeded. In 2021, the athlete swam another 200 kilometers in a current bath in the center of Dokkum. Then he announced that he would now try to complete an Eleven Cities triathlon. With these trips he has already collected more than 11 million euros for cancer research.

Once before

Only once before has this bizarre journey been accomplished by anyone. Stefan van der Pal managed to do this in eight days last year. With the difference that he completed the last stage of 200 kilometers not walking but running. With this he collected 98,000 euros for the Semmy foundation, which aims to increase the life expectancy and ultimately the survival chances of children affected by brain stem cancer.