Mytholmroyd's Karen Darke arrives in Antarctica for world record attempt

The 51-year-old and two crew members are aiming to cross 180 miles of rock and ice to reach the intersection of the 79th latitude and 79th longitude, a point on Antarctica Karen calls the ‘Pole of Possibility’.

The Paralympic gold medallist’s project is an expedition and research endeavour that aims to break world records.

With support from a small team, Karen will ski across the interior of Antarctica, traveling to the intersection of the 79th meridians, a point specifically chosen to create the Pole of Possibility due to the significance of the number – 79 is the atomic number of gold.

The expedition is also an attempt for a world first for a female to sit-ski in Antarctica and a Guinness world record for the furthest distance ever taken by sit-ski or hand-bike in Antarctica.

Sheffield-based B.Braun Medical Ltd has backed the inspirational Paralympian and adventurer since 2010 and the multi-award-winning company is a main supporter of her

latest extraordinary expedition.

Karen was paralysed from the chest down in 1993 after a rock-climbing accident but has gone on to become a member of the British Para-Cycling Team, winning a silver medal in the 2012 London Paralympics and gold four years later in Rio.

Always a keen adventurer, the former geologist has completed a range of epic challenges since her accident. In 2002, Karen paddled a sea kayak from Vancouver to Juneau, and three years later she hand-biked from Kazakhstan to Pakistan.

In recent years she has worked with hand cycle companies to help design bikes capable of breaking speed records and enduring extreme environments, setting a world speed record in 2018 by hitting 46.04 miles per hour in the Nevada desert.

David Oates, Group Managing Director of B. Braun in the UK, said: “Karen continues to inspire us all here at B. Braun. Her total commitment, unwavering courage, and

determination to push herself further to achieve the ‘unachievable’, is truly inspirational.

“We are very proud to continue our support as she takes on this next extraordinary challenge, and we wish her the very best of luck as she braves Antarctica and the very limits

of endurance in the coming days.”