51-year-old Irene van der Laan, an Honour Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame from the Netherlands, will be swimming in her 20th Faros Maratón, the 16 km Croatian International Long Distance Swimming Championships this coming Saturday.

One of the fastest and most durable marathon swimmers in her heyday, she has been competing on the professional marathon swimming circuit since the mid-1980s, arguably participating in more marathon swims and competing for greater distance than anyone in history.

Her career has included over 200 marathon swimming competitions. This weekend in Croatia, her daughter Jolina Stap (smiling on right) will be coaching her mother for the 7th time in the Faros Maratón.

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