2008 Olympic gold medalist in the 10km marathon swim Maarten van der Weijden has improved upon the old World Record for distance swum in a 25m pool in 24 hours.
The 36-year old Dutchman swam 102.8km (63.8 miles) in 24 hours – that comes after last year, where a 99.5km (61.8 miles) effort came up just short of the record.
The old record was set in 1989 by Swede Anders Forvass of Sweden when he raced 101.9km (63.3 miles). Van der Weijden’s record has not been officially ratified by Guinness yet.
As incredible as the swim was, it was just the beginning for van der Weijden. After a short break to do some interviews and have some food, he continued on for another 12 hour swim – all in preparation for a planned 200km swim along side the track of the Elfstedentocht – a speedskating marathon in the province of Friesland.
His 200km swim is a fundraiser for cancer research. Van der Weijden, himself a survivor of leukemia, will allow the public to swim with him for a period of time during his swim for 11 euros.
For those wondering, swimming 102.8km in 24 hours is the same as holding an average pace of 1:24.05 (with rounding).
wpDiscuz
This guy must be living in a lake…literally
Given that the AVERAGE pace was 1:24.05 for 102.8 km, he probably swam much faster to account for feedings and rest. For example, holding 1:20’s would give him an additional 1:00 every 1500; 1:19 would give him an extra 1:00 every 1200; 1:18 would give him an extra 1:00 every 1000, and so on.
Assuming that holding 1:18 would give him an extra 1:00 every 1000, then every 5000 (1 hour 5 minutes) he’d have that 5 minutes to feed or stretch or get a quick massage or whatever. It would be interesting to see what his planned paces were throughout the event, assuming he’d slow down and need a rest sometime. For his last record attempt, he and… Read more »
I don’t even want to drive 63 miles
come on , thats not a big deal to drive 63miles in a new mustang GT
I think I’d rather swim 63 miles than be seen driving a mustang.
and the old timers complain during my free swim that we dont offer enough LCM hours. this guy blasts out a 100km+ SCM workout. speechless
wait… is there a LCM 24-hour record?
I just did the math, someone double check me, but 102,800 meters is 4,112 25s, or 1,028 100s. 86,400 seconds in a day, 86,400/1028 = 1:24.05 per 100 pace. For 24 hours. That’s staggering. It’s even more staggering that in 1989, with so much less known about nutrition and exercise science and technique, that another guy was only a second short of that pace.
Having done some insane swimming 25 years ago, it’s your lower back and abs that feel the wrath. So hard in a pool but if you are a swimmer, you have always known someone much more insane than you………….
was he suited? lol – it’s a ridiculous thought.
looks like that is about 1:15.5 per a 100 yards
There is a LCM record for 24 hours.
http://soloswims.com/24-hour-pool.htm
That dude is tough as nails. Wow.
ULSPT
Friday morning…errr…afternoon…errr…evening SCM workout:
Warm up: 4*200 SKPS
Main set: 1020 x 100 on 1:24
And….go.
Wow. Just wow. I’m not even sure I’d be willing to walk 63.8 miles let alone swim it. Congrats Maarten. Well played.