Maarten van der Weijden

Maarten van der Weijden was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukaemia, a form of blood cancer, in 2001. After a number of tough chemotherapy treatments and a stem cell transplant, he recovered and in the following years he resumed swimming. With enormous perseverance, he managed to reach the top again, with a Gold Olympic medal as the crowning glory during the 10 kilometres in open water at the 2008 Summer Olympic in Beijing. In March 2009 he wrote an autobiography about how he dealt with his disease and the route he took to his Olympic victory. He believes he didn’t conquer the disease, but that he was simply lucky.
In this video you can see what advice Maarten gives to other athletes!

About Maarten van der Weijden

About the book

Content

These videos form part of the book 'The Secret Balance of Champions – Health Challenges in Elite Sport'. The Secret Balance of Champions is about the health challenges that elite athletes may encounter during or after their career. The book consists of eight chapters, compiled by some of the best sports and medical experts in the world, and features the unique stories of 32 champions. This is a ‘must-read’ book for anyone striving to become the best version of themselves!

In the book: Petr Czech, Mo Farah, Marianne Timmer, Kiki Bertens, Dwight Phillips, Ila Borders, Pieter van den Hoogenband, Geremi Njitap Fotso, Danka Barteková, Arjen Robben, Maarten van der Weijden, Abhinav Bindra, Lydia Williams, Evgeniy Levchenko, Marit Bjørgen, Niccoló Campriani, Dorian van Rijsselberghe, Epke Zonderland, Blake Leeper, Elise Christie, Nouchka Fontijn, Zanele Mdodana, Florence Schelling, Alistair Overeem, Sarah Gregorius, Willie Gault, Chris Hoy, Steven Kitshoff, Jetze Plat, Suresh Raina, Apolo Anton Ohno, Chris Froome, and a foreword written by Marco van Basten.

Push Sports is the proud co-sponsor of this unique project.


Buy the book

About the authors

‘The Secret Balance of Champions’ was created and co-written by Vincent Gouttebarge (FIFPRO Chief Medical Officer), Gino Kerkhoffs (Orthopaedic Surgeon in elite sport at Amsterdam UMC) and Margriet de Schutter (former short-track speed skater and founder of Extopsporter.nl, an online platform for active and former elite athletes).

Editors

Official Supplier & Sponsorships

  • FIFPRO
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