I've done it I've done it, I've done it! Maria claimed two world records this morning as the first person to cycle to the South Pole from the edge of the continent in 10 days beating all other speed records.
“Her success was down to meticulous planning, super fitness both physically and mentally and pure determination,” said her mother Adrianne Leijerstam.
“From the time she was 12 years old and announced she wanted to be an astronaut, Maria has always been an adventurer. We are thrilled she has made it in such good time.”
Maria, a former management consultant, who now runs Multisport Wales describes Antartica as vicious. Her journey has not been without its problems. At one point the sweat on the inside of her boots froze making keeping her feet warm incredibly difficult.
Snow drifts, complete white outs and high winds marred her passage but even so she was able to cycle the whole distance on her three wheeled recumbent PolarCycleTM
A two year planning and development programme by the White Ice Cycle team produced the concept for this unique PolarCycleTM that was then manufactured by Inspired Cycle Engineering of Cornwall.
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Roald Amundsen, was the first person to reach the South Pole in 1911 using 2 metre long skis which made crevasse crossing easier for him and he also had assistance from dogs. He was five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon Scott as part of the Terra Nova Expedition. Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base, and later learned that Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey.