Maarten fails his swin challenge, wins fans’ hearts

Gold- medalist is suffering from leukemia

The Hague: Maarten van der Weijden beat leukemia and went on to win an Olympic gold swimming medal in Beijing, but even his powers of endurance weren't enough to complete his latest challenge.

Ill health, on Monday, forced van der Weijden to halt his ambitious bid to swim the 200- kilometer ( 124- mile) route of an iconic speedskating race in the northern Netherlands, bringing to a premature end a fundraising feat that had enthralled his home nation.

Van der Weijden had swum 163 kilometers ( 101 miles) since plunging into a canal in the northern city of Leeuwarden early Saturday morning.

With his trip, the Olympic swimmer, who got leukemia during his career, won over 1.2 million euros for cancer research.

Wearing an orange- andblack wetsuit and swimming a slow freestyle, the 37- year- old swimmer was cheered on by thousands of supporters lining river banks over the weekend. Tractors drove alongside him at night to illuminate the water, and he was hoisted over canal locks by cranes. He was attempting to swim along

Maarten van der Weijden, daignosed with leukemia, collected over 1.2 million euros for cancer research with his swim in northern Netherlands

canals and rivers linking 11 towns in the northern province of Friesland that are used for a speedskating race in the years when cold winters freeze the entire route. The last such race was in 1997.

Supporters unable to get to Friesland followed his progress on a live stream by national broadcaster NOS.

The swimmer was suffering from an imbalance of salt and was unable to keep down any medicine due to nausea. He was taken to hospital for checks.

— AP Cricket legend Vivian Richards joins actor and politician Kamal Haasan ( centre), actress Pooja Kumar ( left) at the 38th India Day Parade in New York on Sunday.

A man paints a mural of Aretha Franklin on a wall down the street where the Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke celebrating the life of singer Aretha Franklin at her father’s church, New Bethel Baptist, during a Sunday morning service in Detroit, Michigan on Sunday. The funeral for Aretha Franklin is scheduled for August 31, 2018.

— AP Sonakshi Sinha and Huma Qureshi during the promotion of the upcoming film Happy Phir Bhaag Jaaegi on the sets of a TV show, in Mumbai on Monday.