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The Netherlands has a rich tradition in these races, which are know in Dutch as langebaanzwemmen (literally "long lane swimming") . As of 2004, some have been organised continuously for over 50 years. Many Dutch competitors have also achieved prestige in the international arena, such as Herman Willemse , Judith de Nijs , Lenie de Nijs , Joke van Staveren , Monique Wildschut , Irene van der Laan , Hans van Goor and Edith van Dijk .

In the Netherlands, there are three categories of langbaanzwemmen:

• Prestatietochten (lit. "achievement-tour"): distances over 250 m for all categories (inclusive of participants without a racing permit).
• Lange afstandzwemmen (lit. "long distance swimming): distances up to 10 km. This category includes open water events. In this category there are the Open Nationale Kampioenschappen in 5 km and 10 km freestyle, with separate events for professionals and amateurs, and a 3 km freestyle for juniors and seniors.
• Marathonzwemmen (lit. "marathon swimming"): distances over 10 km. The Nationale Kampioenschap (national championship) in this category is a joint venture with neighbouring BelgiumFor alternate meanings, see Belgium (disambiguation). Belgian redirects here. For the horse breed commonly used as a draft horse, see Belgian. The Kingdom of Belgium ( Dutch: Belgi French: Belgique German: Belgien is a country in Western Europe, bordered.

Most events are in the long distance category, with around 25 in the Netherlands. An approximately equal number are organised in FlandersThis article is about a region of Western Europe and of Belgium. For other meanings, see Flanders (disambiguation). Today, Flanders ( Dutch: Vlaanderen French: Flandre or Flandres is a region in Western Europe, in Belgium and a nation, the 'community of t in Belgium. The Low CountriesThe Low Countries are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine and Meuse rivers—usually used in modern context to mean the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg (an alternate modern term, more often used today, is Benelux). They roughly, therefore, have some of the waterwayA waterway is any navigable body of water. These include rivers, lakes, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria: The waterway must be deep enough to allow the draft depth of the vessels using it; The wates busiest in open water swimming in the world.