Update: And that’s number six! The Dutch water polo ladies beat team USA with 9-8 in a breathtaking final. Wonderful comeback by team USA, who faced a 4-0 standing in the first quarter, but fought back to 5-5. In the end, it was the Dutch coach who made the risky, but winning gamble to focus on the American attacker, trusting the Dutch keeper to take out the distance shots.
Great match.
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We Dutch already have 5 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze medals, but I don’t think any of them were as beautiful and inspiring as the gold medal we won this morning.
Maarten van der Weijden won the gold medal on the 10km ‘open water’ marathon swimming. He was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukaemia in 2001, and here he is now, standing on the podium, with his eyes closed, singing our national anthem.
I want to say to everyone who is fighting the disease right now, it may not seem like it now, but cancer doesn’t have to be the end - it can be a new beginning.
