Edith van Dijk
Encyclopedia
Edith van Dijk (born April 6, 1973, in Haastrecht
, Zuid Holland
) is a Dutch
swimmer
and 6-fold world champion. She is Holland
's most successful open water swimmer
and long distance swimmer
, whose career started in 1990 taking part in the Dutch IJsselmeermarathon. She starts out at Gouda
's swimming club DONK, the swimming portion of the soccer team of the same name. At DONK fellow teammates gave her the nickname Piaf, due to her having the same first name as Edith Piaf
. She is a Knight
in the Order of Orange Nassau and holds a Doctorate in Economy from Erasmus University
in Rotterdam
the Netherlands.
In the years following the 1990 IJsselmeermarathon she finds her place between the world's top. Her definitive breakthrough is during the European championships of 1995 in Vienna
, where she wins the silver medal on the longest distance in open water swimming, that of 25 kilometer. The next high is reached in less than three years in Perth
, where she wins two medals at the world championships
: silver on the 5 kilometer and bronze on the 25 kilometer.
Another two years later, when first separate open water world championships were held off the coast of Hawaï
, she hit on the 10 and 25 kilometers. From then on, Van Dijk - living in Wognum
and competing for the club SG Hoorn/Zeemacht, always stood on the podium at every major international tournament. In addition to this she also decorated herself with high classifications in the World Cup circuit, including ultra-long races, of more than seventy kilometers in Argentina
and Brazil
. In 2001, 2002, and 2003 she is nominated for the honor title of Dutch Female Sporter of the Year.
Erica Terpstra
, herself a top swimmer, performed the wedding ceremony, wedding Edith with Hans van Goor
on 20 March 2003 in Oudewater
, The Netherlands.
On 13 August 2003 she swam across the English Channel
between Calais
and Dover
. In a time of 9 hours and 8 minutes (official time) she reached the French Coast. She had aimed to improve the official Dutch and European Record by her husband and coach Hans van Goor, who performed the same crossing in 1995 in a time of 8 hours and 2 minutes.
After her Channel-adventure Van Dijk attempted to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens
. In spite of her training efforts she did not manage to qualify; she was not fast enough for even the longest distance of pool swimming, the 800 meters freestyle
.
In 2005 she decided to end her long and impressive career. She closed it in style: at the world championships
of 2005 in Montreal
she won the bronze in the 5 kilometers, and gold on both the 10 and 25 kilometers, thereby annoying her everlasting rival from Germany
with whom she fought a number of duels, Britta Kamrau
. The last race of Holland's most praised marathon swimmer was in December 2005 at the Dutch Short Course Championships (25 meter pool) in Amsterdam
.
At the end of 2005, the leading American magazine Swimming World
names her long-distance swimmer of the year.
On 22 December 2005 she was elected Sport female of the year 2005
. The jury composed of Dutch top athletes chose her instead of judoka Edith Bosch
(World and European Champion in 2005) and rower Marit van Eupen
(World champion in 2005).
Edith also played a role in the 2006 Argentinian Movie Agua where she plays herself in a documentary about swimmers, doing an interview about her life as a swimmer.
In August 2007, she announced her comeback, in order to try to win an Olympic medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics
. In Beijing
, open water swimming featured on the Olympic program for the first time. Despite winning a silver medal in the 25 km at the 2008 world championships
three months before the Olympics, she finished only 14th
in the Olympic 10 km.
The time format is in hours:minutes:seconds:milliseconds as is common for swimming times.
Note that there is a big difference between pool types. Indoor pools of 25 m give the advantage of being able to use the turning point to push off again using ones legs, thus giving a clear advantage over 50 m and of course open water venues. Open sea
gives the really bad side effect of large waves and the tides, which will sometimes push the swimmer back to where they came from, this can be clearly seen in the differences in times between the Channel crossing and the almost double in length Maraton Acuatica Rio Coronda which she performed in two hours less.
Haastrecht
Haastrecht is a town on the Hollandse IJssel river in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Vlist, and lies about 5 km east of Gouda.In 2001, the town of Haastrecht had 3302 inhabitants...
, Zuid Holland
South Holland
South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...
) is a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
swimmer
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and 6-fold world champion. She is Holland
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
's most successful open water swimmer
Open water swimming
Open water swimming takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, bays, lakes, rivers, canals, and reservoirs.The beginning of the modern age of open water swimming is sometimes taken to be May 3, 1810, when Lord Byron swam several miles to cross the Hellespont from Europe to Asia.In...
and long distance swimmer
Long-distance swimming
The distances that distinguish long distance swimming from ordinary swimming are those distances that are longer than are typically swum in pool competitions. When a given swim calls more on endurance than outright speed, the more likely it is to be considered a long distance swim...
, whose career started in 1990 taking part in the Dutch IJsselmeermarathon. She starts out at Gouda
Gouda
Gouda is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Gouda, which was granted city rights in 1272, is famous for its Gouda cheese, smoking pipes, and 15th-century city hall....
's swimming club DONK, the swimming portion of the soccer team of the same name. At DONK fellow teammates gave her the nickname Piaf, due to her having the same first name as Edith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
. She is a Knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
in the Order of Orange Nassau and holds a Doctorate in Economy from Erasmus University
Erasmus University
Erasmus University Rotterdam is a university in the Netherlands, located in Rotterdam. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th century humanist and theologian...
in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
the Netherlands.
In the years following the 1990 IJsselmeermarathon she finds her place between the world's top. Her definitive breakthrough is during the European championships of 1995 in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where she wins the silver medal on the longest distance in open water swimming, that of 25 kilometer. The next high is reached in less than three years in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, where she wins two medals at the world championships
FINA World Championships - Long Course
The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatic sports: diving, swimming, open water swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo. They are run by FINA, and in the pool swimming events are contested in a 50 m, or "long course", pool.The...
: silver on the 5 kilometer and bronze on the 25 kilometer.
Another two years later, when first separate open water world championships were held off the coast of Hawaï
Hawai
Hawai can mean:*Hawai, Tottori, town in Tottori Prefecture, Japan*Hawai, India, the administrative headquarters of Anjaw District, in Arunachal Pradesh, India*Hawai, New Zealand in New Zealand...
, she hit on the 10 and 25 kilometers. From then on, Van Dijk - living in Wognum
Wognum
Wognum is a former municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Wognum received city rights in 1392 but lost them in 1426...
and competing for the club SG Hoorn/Zeemacht, always stood on the podium at every major international tournament. In addition to this she also decorated herself with high classifications in the World Cup circuit, including ultra-long races, of more than seventy kilometers in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. In 2001, 2002, and 2003 she is nominated for the honor title of Dutch Female Sporter of the Year.
Erica Terpstra
Erica Terpstra
Erica Georgine Terpstra is a retired Dutch freestyle swimmer, theosopher, sports journalist, state secretary and member of parliament. Between late 2003 and 18 May 2010 she was chairperson of the NOC*NSF...
, herself a top swimmer, performed the wedding ceremony, wedding Edith with Hans van Goor
Hans van Goor
Hans van Goor is a retired Dutch long distance swimmer who won a silver medal at the 1993 European Championships. He also swam the English Channel on 4 September 1995 in a time of 8 h and 02 mins, which stood as a European record until 2003...
on 20 March 2003 in Oudewater
Oudewater
Oudewater is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.-Population centres :The municipality of Oudewater consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Hekendorp, Oudewater, Papekop, Snelrewaard....
, The Netherlands.
On 13 August 2003 she swam across the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
between Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
and Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
. In a time of 9 hours and 8 minutes (official time) she reached the French Coast. She had aimed to improve the official Dutch and European Record by her husband and coach Hans van Goor, who performed the same crossing in 1995 in a time of 8 hours and 2 minutes.
After her Channel-adventure Van Dijk attempted to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. In spite of her training efforts she did not manage to qualify; she was not fast enough for even the longest distance of pool swimming, the 800 meters freestyle
Freestyle swimming
Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...
.
In 2005 she decided to end her long and impressive career. She closed it in style: at the world championships
FINA World Championships - Long Course
The FINA World Championships or World Aquatics Championships are the World Championships for aquatic sports: diving, swimming, open water swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo. They are run by FINA, and in the pool swimming events are contested in a 50 m, or "long course", pool.The...
of 2005 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
she won the bronze in the 5 kilometers, and gold on both the 10 and 25 kilometers, thereby annoying her everlasting rival from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
with whom she fought a number of duels, Britta Kamrau
Britta Kamrau
Britta Kamrau-Corestein is a German long distance swimmer. She is a former European champion at the 5 km, 10 km and 25 km open water distances and current world champion at 25 km....
. The last race of Holland's most praised marathon swimmer was in December 2005 at the Dutch Short Course Championships (25 meter pool) in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
At the end of 2005, the leading American magazine Swimming World
Swimming World magazine
Swimming World Magazine is an American-based monthly swimming magazine, that was first published in a magazine format as Junior Swimmer in January of 1960...
names her long-distance swimmer of the year.
On 22 December 2005 she was elected Sport female of the year 2005
Dutch Sportsman of the year
The Dutch Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year are chosen annually by Dutch athletes from a shortlist compiled by sports journalists. The elections are organized by the Dutch Olympic Committee.- Sporter of the Year :...
. The jury composed of Dutch top athletes chose her instead of judoka Edith Bosch
Edith Bosch
Edith Bosch is a Dutch Judoka who won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the middleweight division....
(World and European Champion in 2005) and rower Marit van Eupen
Marit van Eupen
Marit van Eupen is a rower from the Netherlands.Together with Kirsten van der Kolk she participated at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney where they finished in sixth position in the lightweight double sculls. Four years later they took part in Athens at the 2004 Summer Olympics where they won the...
(World champion in 2005).
Edith also played a role in the 2006 Argentinian Movie Agua where she plays herself in a documentary about swimmers, doing an interview about her life as a swimmer.
In August 2007, she announced her comeback, in order to try to win an Olympic medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. In Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, open water swimming featured on the Olympic program for the first time. Despite winning a silver medal in the 25 km at the 2008 world championships
2008 FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships
rightThe 5th FINA World Open Water Swimming Championships were held May 3-8, 2008 in Seville, Spain. The races were held on a 2.5-kilometer loop-course in the Guadalquivir river in the city center....
three months before the Olympics, she finished only 14th
Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's marathon 10 kilometre
The women's marathon 10 kilometre event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on August 20 at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park. It was a new event on the programme at the 2008 Games. The men's and women's marathon 10 kilometre races, unlike all of the other swimming events, were held in open...
in the Olympic 10 km.
Personal bests
Below is a listing of the top times that Edith achieved in her career.The time format is in hours:minutes:seconds:milliseconds as is common for swimming times.
Note that there is a big difference between pool types. Indoor pools of 25 m give the advantage of being able to use the turning point to push off again using ones legs, thus giving a clear advantage over 50 m and of course open water venues. Open sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
gives the really bad side effect of large waves and the tides, which will sometimes push the swimmer back to where they came from, this can be clearly seen in the differences in times between the Channel crossing and the almost double in length Maraton Acuatica Rio Coronda which she performed in two hours less.
| TIME | DISTANCE | POOLSIZE | DATE | PLACE | EVENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:07.16 | 200 m | 25 m | 2000 |  NieuwegeinNieuwegein Nieuwegein is a municipality and city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is bordered on the north by the city of Utrecht, the provincial capital... |
Finals Dutch Championships (short track) |
| 4:19.19 | 400 m | 25 m | 2004 |  BerlinBerlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... |
FINA: World Cup No 5 - 2003/2004 Series |
| 8:44.77 | 800 m | 25 m | 2004 | Berlin Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... |
FINA: World Cup No 5 - 2003/2004 Series |
| 16:54.09 | 1500 m | 25 m | 2005 | Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... |
Dutch Short Course Championships |
| 4:20.84 | 400 m | 50 m | 2003 | Dordrecht Dordrecht Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009... |
Finals Dutch Championships |
| 55:46.6 | 5000 m | open water | 2005 |  MontrealMontreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... |
World Aquatics Championships |
| 1:56:00.5 | 10 km | open water | 2005 | Montreal Montreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... |
World Aquatics Championships |
| 5:25:06.6 | 25 km | open water | 2005 | Montreal Montreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... |
World Aquatics Championships |
| 9:08:00 | 34 km | open water | 2003 |  DoverDover Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings... to  CalaisCalais Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras.... |
English Channel English Channel The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover... |
| 7:45:00 | 88 km | down river | 2001 |  ArgentinaArgentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... |
Maraton Acuatica Rio Coronda |