In 1970, the first 21 km IJsselmeer zwemmarathon (@ijsselmeerzwemmarathon) between Stavoren and Medemblik in the Netherlands took place.

But the swim all started with Jan van Scheijndel from the Netherlands, a trainer and coach with the The Hague Swim Club DES, and a member of the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation. He was inducted as an Honor Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 1985.

Jan initially was a water polo player, but after the age of 18, he became more comfortable with longer distances. After doing a 3 km swim, Jan wanted to go longer and started training at 6 am before going to work. After work, he returned to the pool to continue his self-coached training. At some point, he decided to cross the IJsselmeer, a lake in central Netherlands – and started to plan. He first approached the local tourist office that were immediately interested in promoting an event to Medemblik. Jan was introduced to fisherman Jan de Beer who knew the lake extremely well.

Jan began his pioneering attempt at 8 am, starting at Stavoren in 1969. With De Beer and his son Henk escorting him under Force 5–6 conditions heading straight towards Jan. But he persevered, reaching Medemblik after 7 hours 32 minutes to great fanfare. A small aircraft circled overhead, providing ongoing commentary on Jan and his escort team.

After his successful crossing, Jan worked with the DES swimming club, the local tourist board, and the De Beer and Brakeboer families to transform his solo crossing to to an annual event. The marathon crossing between Stavoren and Medemblik has now been running for 57 years.

The 22 km marathon swim is held annually from Stavoren to Medemblik in IJsselmeer, the Netherlands. The IJsselmeer was formerly in the ocean, but it is now a large lake. IJsselmeer can develop into very difficult conditions with its winds.

The current record is currently held by Lars Bottelier in 4 hours 9 minutes set in 2022.

For more information on this year’s August 15th race, visit www.ijsselmeerzwemmarathon.nl.

International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame Recognition

IJsselmeer Zwemmarathon swim is an Honor Organization with the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, honored in its Class of 2020. IMSHOF Honor Swimmers who have completed crossings of IJsselmeer include:

• Richard Broer, Honor Administrator, Netherlands, Class of 2017
• Ned Denison, Honor Administrator, Ireland, Class of 2012
• Edith van Dijk, Honor Swimmer, Netherlands, Class of 2007
• Lyndon Dunsbee, Honor Swimmer, Great Britain, Class of 1988
• Irene van der Laan, Honor Swimmer, Netherlands, Class of 1985
• Annemie Landmeters, Honor Swimmer, Belgium, Class of 1991
• Gustavo Oriozabala, Honor Swimmer, Argentina, Class of 2001
• Michael P. Read, MBE, Honor Swimmer, Great Britain, Class of 1978
• Jan van Scheijndel, Honor Swimmer, Netherlands, Class of 1985
• Jacques Tuset, Honor Swimmer, France, Class of 2018
• Ferry Weertman, Honor Swimmer, Netherlands, Class of 2022
• Maarten van der Weijden, Honor Swimmer, Netherlands, Class of 2012
• Monique Wildschut, Honor Swimmer, Netherlands, Class of 1993

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