The story of Maarten van der Weijden has been told in every possible way on every medium in multiple languages.

But his story never gets old as he left indelible marks on the sport at the elite level among the top men in the world. To this day at the highest echelon of the sport, the world-class swimmers remain true gentlemen who respect each other on land and in the water. This Olympic ideal is in no small part due to the sportsmanship, sense of cooperation and genuine feeling of brotherhood that van der Weijden demonstrated throughout his remarkable career.

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