American Colin O'Brady becomes 1st person to cross Antarctica solo and unassisted

Antarctica.
(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

After 53 grueling days trekking through Antarctica, American adventurer Colin O'Brady on Wednesday became the first person to cross the continent solo and unassisted.

O'Brady, 33, embarked on the journey on Nov. 3. He traveled 932 miles, finishing the last 80 miles in 33 hours. While vacationing in Thailand 10 years ago, O'Brady sustained burns on 25 percent of his body, and after recovering, he began racing in triathlons. He has since climbed the highest peaks on every continent and in every U.S. state. Last week, he told BBC News he's lost so much weight that his watch keeps falling off his wrist.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.