Edith van Dijk

Edith van Dijk, Ph.D. was inducted as an Honour Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame

Edith van Dijk, multiple world champion

Edith van Dijk, 2008 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year and 2008 Olympian

Edith van Dijk with husband Hans van Goor. Photo by Aad Groningen

Edith van Dijk, Ph.D. is an Olympic swimmer and former multi-time professional world marathon swimming champion. She was inducted as an Honour Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2006. She also received the 2008 World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year awarded by the World Open Water Swimming Association and the 2005 World Open Water Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine.

Nicknamed Piaf, she is a Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau and holds a Doctorate in Economy from Erasmus University in Rotterdam the Netherlands.

Open Water Swimming Career Highlights

• She won a silver medal in the 1998 FINA World Swimming Championships 5 km race in 1:00:58.5 in Perth, Australia.
• She won the European Open Water Swimming Cup Championship in 1998.
• She won a bronze medal in the 1998 FINA World Swimming Championships 25 km race in 5 hours 48 minutes 6.9 seconds in Perth, Australia.
• In 1999, she finished 2nd in the 56 km Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe - Coronda in the Río Coronda, Argentina in 8:44:18.
• She crossed the English Channel in 9 hours 8 minutes on 14 August 2004. Her husband and coach Hans van Goor performed the same crossing in 1995 in a time of 8 hours 2 minutes.
• She was the 2005 Swimming World Magazine selected her the Long Distance Swimmer of the Year.
• She played a role in the 2006 Argentinian movie Agua where she plays herself in a documentary about open water swimmers.
• She is one of the most successful and decorated professional marathon swimmers in history.
• She won a silver in the 5 km (4.1-mile) race and bronze in the 25 km (15.5-mile) race at the 1998 FINA World Championships]].
• She won the 10 km (6.2-mile) and 25 km (15.5-mile) races in the 2000 World Open Water Swimming Championships.
• She won a bronze in the 5 km (4.1-mile) and two gold medals in both the 10 km (6.2-miles) and 25 km (15.5-mile) race at the 2005 FINA World Swimming Championships.
• She won the 2001 88 km (54.6-mile) Maratón Acuática Internacional Santa Fe - Coronda.
• She won a bronze in the 10 km (6.2-mile) race and a silver medal in the 25 km (15.5-mile) race at the 2000 World Swimming Championships.
• She won two silvers in the 5 km (4.1-mile) and 25 km (15.5-mile) races at the 2002 World Open Water Swimming Championships.
• She won a bronze in the 10 km (6.2-mile) and a gold in the 25 km (15.5-mile) race at the 2004 FINA World Championships.
• She won a bronze in the 5 km (4.1-mile) and two gold medals in the 10 km (6.2-mile) and 25 km (15.5-mile) races at the 2005 FINA World Championships.
• She also won the 2000, 2001 and 2005 FINA World Cup series when she won marathon swims in Argentina, Macedonia, Canada, England, Egypt.
• She was the oldest competitor who qualified for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

1998 FINA World Championships 25 km Race Results

1 Tobie Smith 5:31:20
2 Peggy Büchse 5:32:19
3 Edith van Dijk 5:38:06
4 Tracey Knowles 5:40:20
5 Valeria Casprini 5:43:35
6 Etta van der Weijden 5:44:38
7 Britta Kamrau 5:47:24
8 Gaia Naldini 5:49:05
9 Annette Andermatt 5:51:54
10 Karen Burton Reeder 5:56:40
11 Angela Collett 6:05:17
12 Melissa Cunningham 6:07:14
13 Maša Jamnik 6:08:32
14 Radka Nechmačová 6:09:53
15 Attilia Figini 6:11:55
16 Celina Endo 6:15:44
17 Edit Kasparik 6:26:27

External links

• The Best Open Water Swimmers from 1950 to 2020
• The Best Open Water Swimmers from 1950 to 2020
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 2010's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 2000's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1990's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1980's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1970's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1960's
• The Best Open Water Swimmers of the 1950's
• Women In Their 30's: Greatness Defined
• National Honors Awarded to Open Water Swimmers
• 25 km World Championship Race Is No More
• Can Ana Marcela Cunha Make History at the LEN Open Water Cup?
• Will the 25K Race At FINA World Championships Be Cancelled?
• Edith van Dijk On WOWSA Live
• WOWSA Awards – World Open Water Swimming Woman Of The Year
• When Chris Guesdon Changed The Course Of Open Water History
• Herman Willemse Describes How Swimming Changed His Life On WOWSA Live
• Britta Kamrau Remembers Her Friendships, Her Career On WOWSA Live
• Marathon Swimming Hall Of Famers At The Olympics
• The Perfect Open Water Woman
• The Perfect Open Water Man
• IJsselmeer Zwemmarathon Honored By The Hall Of Fame
• The Different Generations Of Open Water Swimmers
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year
• International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame
• Open Water Swimming
• WOW...Whatta Year Of Achievement
• Marathon Swimming
• Happy Medium Of Distance And Speed
• The Perfect Female Open Water Swimmer
• Finding True Love In The Open Water
• World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation
• Swimming In The Black
• 1 + 1 > 2 In The Open Water Swimming World
• Navigating With The First Couple Of Open Water Swimming
• Flying Fast Freestyle Down The Coronda River
• The Perfect Ideal Of A Female Swimmer
• Edith Van Dijk Did It All
• Happy Wife, Happy Open Water Life
• Fastest English Channel Crossings By Olympic Swimmers
• World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation
• First 24 Years Of Lac Memphrémagog Traversée
• World Open Water Swimming Association
• Open Water Swimming
• Daily News of Open Water Swimming
• Marathon Swimming
• 20 Years Later, Fukuoka Will Only Get Better
• He's Baaaaaackkk, Maarten van der Weijden
• WOWSA Winners Possess Sense Of Adventure
• Great Moves In Open Water Swimming History - Río Coronda
• Swimmers On Dryland