Amerikaan steekt als eerste Antarctica over zonder hulp

De Amerikaans Colin O’Brady is erin geslaagd om als eerste het continent Antarctica over te steken zonder hulp van buitenaf.

De 33-jarige Colin O’Brady jaar deed er 54 dagen over om het traject van 1.500 kilometer op ski’s af te leggen. Hij versloeg de Brit Louis Rudd aan de eindstreep.

O’Brady vertrok op kerstochtend voor de laatste 125 kilometer van zijn reis van de ene kust naar de andere. Hij deed over die laatste etappe 32 uur en 30 minuten, zegt hij op sociale media.

De inwoner van de stad Portland maakte het nieuws zelf bekend via zijn Instagrampagina. Hij is daarop te zien naast een houten teken dat de rand van het Ross-ijsplateau aanduidt. Op die plaats eindigt de landmassa van het continent en begint het zee-ijs. ‘Toen ik mijn slee over deze onzichtbare lijn trok, had ik mijn doel bereikt: ik was de eerste ooit om het continent Antarctica solo over te steken van kust tot kust, zonder ondersteuning of hulp’, schreef O’Brady.

O’Brady ging dus Louis Rudd vooraf, die zich tegelijkertijd aan de onderneming waagde. De man was een goede vriend van Henry Worsley, die in 2016 stierf aan een infectie, enkele dagen nadat hij tijdens dezelfde beproeving op minder dan 50 kilometer van de eindstreep had moeten opgeven.

1.0Day 54: FINISH LINE!!! I did it! The Impossible First ✅. 32 hours and 30 minutes after leaving my last camp early Christmas morning, I covered the remaining ~80 miles in one continuous “Antarctica Ultramarathon” push to the finish line. The wooden post in the background of this picture marks the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, where Antarctica’s land mass ends and the sea ice begins. As I pulled my sled over this invisible line, I accomplished my goal: to become the first person in history to traverse the continent of Antarctica coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided. While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced. I was locked in a deep flow state the entire time, equally focused on the end goal, while allowing my mind to recount the profound lessons of this journey. I’m delirious writing this as I haven’t slept yet. There is so much to process and integrate and there will be many more posts to acknowledge the incredible group of people who supported this project. But for now, I want to simply recognize my #1 who I, of course, called immediately upon finishing. I burst into tears making this call. I was never alone out there. @jennabesaw you walked every step with me and guided me with your courage and strength. WE DID IT!! We turned our dream into reality and proved that The Impossible First is indeed possible. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela.
#TheImpossibleFirst #BePossiblecolinobradyhttps://www.instagram.com/colinobrady18060817361943117747124575495_1806081736Instagramhttps://www.instagram.comrich658

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Day 54: FINISH LINE!!! I did it! The Impossible First ✅. 32 hours and 30 minutes after leaving my last camp early Christmas morning, I covered the remaining ~80 miles in one continuous “Antarctica Ultramarathon” push to the finish line. The wooden post in the background of this picture marks the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, where Antarctica’s land mass ends and the sea ice begins. As I pulled my sled over this invisible line, I accomplished my goal: to become the first person in history to traverse the continent of Antarctica coast to coast solo, unsupported and unaided. While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced. I was locked in a deep flow state the entire time, equally focused on the end goal, while allowing my mind to recount the profound lessons of this journey. I’m delirious writing this as I haven’t slept yet. There is so much to process and integrate and there will be many more posts to acknowledge the incredible group of people who supported this project. But for now, I want to simply recognize my #1 who I, of course, called immediately upon finishing. I burst into tears making this call. I was never alone out there. @jennabesaw you walked every step with me and guided me with your courage and strength. WE DID IT!! We turned our dream into reality and proved that The Impossible First is indeed possible. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela. #TheImpossibleFirst #BePossible

A post shared by Colin O'Brady (@colinobrady) on Dec 26, 2018 at 12:55pm PST