Preet Chandi Becomes First Woman Of Colour To Complete Longest Solo Polar Expedition In Antarctica

'Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold,' said Helen Keller once.

Probably walking on those lines, an Indian-origin British army officer has broken the world record for completing the longest solon polar ski expedition by any female in history, that too an unsupported and unassisted one in Antarctica, which is considered the highest, driest, windiest continent on the earth.

The previous female record was 1,368 km skied in 2019 by Anja Blacha from Germany.

Captain Preet Chandi, who belongs to a Sikh community, has covered 1,485 kilometres in 70 days and 16 hours. While sharing her record-breaking accomplishment on Instagram, she wrote, 'Polar Preet has broken the world record for the longest, solo, unsupported and unassisted polar expedition by any woman in history!"

Every day, she skied between 13 and 15 hours and reduced her sleep time to even five hours as well. Not only she had to deal with extreme temperature, which was as low as about minus 30 degrees Celsius and wind speed of up to 60mph, but she had fought exhaustion as well. Along with her kit that included food medicines, and fuel, she also pulled a heavy sledge during her expedition.

On her website, Chandi wrote, 'I'm also proud of myself, I kept going when it was tough when I thought I couldn't do anymore. I wanted to continue to push my boundaries and hopefully inspire others to do the same.' The website also has a live tracking map along with daily voice blogs.

"We've just heard from Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE) that Preet Chandi has officially broken the record for the longest solo, unsupported, and unassisted polar expedition by any woman in history! The previous female record was 1,368 km skied by Anja Blacha from Germany in 2019," mentioned a Facebook post by Team Forces/Team Army, which is a foundation that raises funds for sport, challenge, and adventure in the armed forces in the UK.

'I don't want to just break the glass ceiling, I want to smash it into a million pieces.' I was told no on many occasions, called stubborn or rebellious because I wanted to do things that were out of the norm and push my boundaries.... it is amazing how much your world opens up when you start to do so. No boundary or barrier is too small and I want to continue to smash that glass ceiling,' wrote Chandi in her blog post to encourage and help others to push their boundaries as well and achieve everything they have dreamt of through her own journey.