FACTBOX: Gold medalist Maarten van der Weijden

(Reuters) - Factbox on Maarten van der Weijden of Netherlands who won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 10km swim on Thursday.

Age: 27 (date of birth: Mar 31, 1981)

Place of birth: Alkmaar, Netherlands

Career achievements:

Gold medalist, 2008 Open Water World Championships, 25km freestyle

Bronze medalist, 2008 Open Water World Championships, 5km freestyle

In 2001 van der Weijden was diagnosed with leukemia. He fought off the cancer and made his comeback at the 2003 and 2004 Open Water World Championships when he swam faster than before the disease.

In 2004 he swam in record time through the IJsselmeer lake, Netherlands, raising 50,000 Euros for an organization that helps cancer patients.

(Compiled by Neil Maidment)