Seven years ago he had cancer – now he's won Olympic gold

Published on Thursday 21 August 2008 22:35

THE Olympic Games produced a dramatic tale of triumph over adversity yesterday when a leukaemia survivor powered his way to a swimming gold medal.

Maarten van der Weijden was diagnosed with the potentially fatal disease – cancer of the bone marrow and white blood cells – in 2001. But the 6ft 7in Dutchman underwent a treatment which allowed him to endure high dosages of chemotherapy and yesterday became the Olympic 10km open water champion.

He produced a powerful burst at the end to finish 51.6 seconds ahead of Britain's David Davies and the German former world champion, Thomas Lurz.

The swimmer, who has been sleeping in an altitude tent since the start of the year to prepare for the climate in China, said his battle with cancer had helped to give him the mental strength needed in the closing stages of the gruelling swim.

He said: "I think leukaemia has taught me to think step by step.

"When you are lying in the hospital bed and feeling so drained, feeling so much pain and so tired, you don't want to think about next month or next week, all you are thinking about is the next hour.

"(This taught me] just to be patient, lie in your bed and just wait. That's almost the same strategy I used here; to stay at the back, be patient and stay easy, waiting for your chance.

"I have struggled so much in life and to be able to have so much victory seven years ahead, that's awesome.''

After the race, Davies paid tribute to van der Weijden.

"Maarten's had a cancer battle in the past and almost had to give up the sport," said Davies.

"He's a complete gentleman, a great ambassador for the sport and he's Olympic champion now. I said to him at the end that I was really proud of him. He's a tough competitor.

"His story's amazing and can inspire people. What he has achieved is phenomenal."

Van der Weijden barely featured at the front of the pack during the race, but hauled himself into contention despite a burst of speed 500 metres from the finish by Davies that looked to have left the field behind.

One of the UK's leading experts in blood cancer, Professor Ghulam Mufti, professor of haemato-oncology at King's College London, said van der Weijden had achieved a remarkable feat to return to the "super-peak" of health.

He said: "This really does show how successful transplantation is in this day and age. It's really lifesaving – it brings normality of life afterwards.

"Seven years on from being diagnosed and he is most likely cured."

Acute leukaemia such as that suffered by van der Weijden means the bone marrow releases immature white blood cells which disrupt the normal balance in the blood and make the patient more vulnerable to infection.

Winner puts his recovery down to luck, not attitude

SPORTING heroes who have battled with life-threatening illness have displayed differing approaches to their fightbacks.

Lance Armstrong, world champion road-racing cyclist, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996 but went on to win the gruelling Tour de France a record- breaking seven times between 1999 and 2005.

He credited his survival to the medical expertise of his doctors and the support of his family. But he said he did his part by never allowing himself to believe he would die. He believes the human mind can overcome huge odds and has become a strong advocate of positive psychology, which focuses on how optimism and positive thinking contribute to happiness.

But van der Weijden disagrees with this approach.

He said yesterday: "Armstrong says that positive thinking and doing a lot of sports can save you. I don't agree. I even think it's dangerous because it implies that if you are not a positive thinker all the time you lose.

"The doctors – and not just the power of positive thinking and my love of sport – have saved me.

"I am just lucky. That's how simple it is.

"Seven and a half years ago I was fighting leukaemia. Because of the stem-cell transplant I received, I had the luck to recover."