33-year-old Colin O’Brady from the United States of America became the first person to trek across Antartica unaided. What is remarkable is that he finished this feat much ahead of schedule. He could do so as he covered the final 125 kilometres of his journey in one shot – an ultramarathon lasting 32 hours. The journey was of 1,482 kilometres in total and took close to 54 days to finish. The original plan was to take around 70 days to finish the trek.
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In this entire duration, O’Brady took only one half-day off because he lost a skin from his ski. The arduous journey required him to carry 400-pound sledges, which included food, fuel for cooking, cameras, and a tent. While people have traversed across Antarctica earlier, this was the first time that the act was done without an aid.
This is not O’Brady’s first world record. He also holds the distinction for trekking to the top of the highest summits on all seven continents in the fastest time – 132 days only.
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