Inspiring Moments in Sports 2021! Not Today Blog 39
Ever since I signed up to row across the Atlantic Ocean, I have become curiously aware of outdoor sports. I realised that it’s not about how extreme a sport is, but about who is doing it. Here is my selection of inspiring moments in sports this year.
Nimsdai and Team Become the First Mountaineers to Summit K2 in Winter
On January 10 this year a friend of mine asked in a group chat if we had heard of the Polish girl that was attempting to climb K2 in winter at temperatures as low as -60° C.
Other friends retorted how dumb the idea was, considering that there have already been 86 deaths and no one has yet been able to climb K2 in winter. Why would you still try?
My initial reply was “I am relatively sure that she too does not know why. Sometimes you set your mind on something and then you just have to do it”. At the time none of my friends knew yet that I had signed up for a row across the Atlantic.
Six days later on Saturday, January 16 Nirmal Purja, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa and eight other team members did the impossible. They successfully summited K2 for the first time in history on a winter expedition.
The Importance of Community
Poland’s youngest woman to ever climb Everest, Magdalena Gorzkowska, was ready to summit K2 just 2 weeks later. But she had to abandon her attempt. In an Instagram post on February 4, she wrote that her acclimatisation rotations had gone well, but she became seriously sick on her summit rotation. She barely made it to C1. After waking up with severe stomach pains and cramps, she decided to return to base camp. She was brought down from the mountain by helicopter. After five days of recovery, her pain subsided and she got her appetite back.
Turning around, making what is a difficult decision, is often braver and more courageous than to continue blindly.
Marina Fogle
The whole K2 expedition made me realise how much more community matters than the challenge itself. On social media, people celebrated together for the first successful winter summit. And they mourned together for Atanas Skatov, Sergi Mingote, John Snorri, Juan Pablo Mohr and Muhammad Sadpara who lost their lives on this winter expedition.
Jasmine Harrison Rowing the Atlantic Solo
On February 20 Jasmine Harrison arrived in Antigua after 70 days, 3 hours and 48 minutes at sea. That day Jasmine became the youngest woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Knowing that I would be taking part in the same challenge in a few years, I wanted to know everything that was happening on an expedition as crazy as this one. From the day the 21 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge teams set off to sea from La Gomera on 12 December 2020, I checked social media daily to see if there was any news.
Oh, and there was. During the race, 4 teams got struck by a marlin and had to repair the damages to the boat at sea. Boats capsized throughout the race. And Jasmine got almost hit by a tanker!
I vividly remember the videos she was able to upload to her Instagram during the row. Seeing a 230-metre-long ship emerge from the sea directly in front of you is scary. Her instructional video on how to make the best of being stuck in your cabin because of rough weather with peanut butter and chocolate spread is legendary haha!
Marlin attacks and near-collisions are scary but these are moments that pass. What impresses me most about Jasmine Harrison’s adventure is that a 21-year-old girl was able to spend 70 days all alone in an environment over which she has no control.
I can only imagine how much she learned about how her mind works during her time at sea.
Mike Posner and Adriana Brownlee Climb Everest
After following the K2 winter expedition, I wanted to learn more about mountains.
Just months after walking across America in 2019, musician Mike Posner started training for his next big challenge. Climbing Everest.
After 20 months of training in the world’s highest mountains, Mike stood on the summit of Mount Everest with his guide Jon Kedrowski and two other teammates.
Mike shared his journey on social media, singing songs at base camp, dancing in the snow with his companions and sharing incredible photos of Mount Everest. He successfully climbed Everest and raised more than $250,000 for the Detroit Justice Center. He has been a huge inspiration to me over the years.
The Importance of Athlete Sponsoring
Another athlete who climbed Everest at the same time as Mike Posner was Adriana Brownlee. The 20-year-old British woman also did an incredible job sharing her journey.
She was part of the Elite Exped team led by Nirmal Purja, Mingma Gyabu Sherpa (David) and Mingma Tenzi Sherpa. I loved to see the team dynamics shown in Adriana Brownlee’s social media feed.
People tend to forget that climbing a mountain requires an equal amount of patience as rowing an ocean does. Climbers take on multiple rotations to higher camps on the mountain to acclimatise and return to base camp. And in the end, it’s a waiting game until a weather window opens that allows you to reach the summit.
The Elite Exped team made the best of the long weeks of waiting and hosted small parties in their tents at 5600 metres. It made me happy to see people sharing their passion for the mountains.
And it was through her example that I first realised how powerful athlete sponsorship is. Adriana is sponsored by Save The Duck, an outdoor clothing brand that makes jackets that are 100% animal-free and donates 1% of its turnover to companies that care for the planet. Without their support for athletes like Adriana, I would have never found out about a brand that keeps the environment in mind while making sick jackets!
Eliud Kipchoge Wins Olympic Marathon
And last but not least, Eliud Kipchoge.
I don’t know what it is, but ever since I saw the documentary Breaking2, I can watch people run for 2 hours without getting bored. The opposite really. The pace Eliud was able to keep over the marathon course in Sapporo, Japan, in 28°C heat, was incredible.
He finished 42.195km in 2 hours 8 minutes and 38 seconds. Just to put that into perspective. Eliud ran the first 5K in 15 minutes 19 seconds, and 10K in 30 minutes 53 seconds! He led the race by 1 minute 20 seconds.
With his win in Japan, Eliud Kipchoge received his second Olympic Marathon gold medal.
I can’t wait for his movie “Kipchoge: The Last Milestone” to be released on August 23.
Why Not Today?
Magdalena Gorzkowska asked herself “Why Limit Myself?” when she was on K2. Kipchoge believes that “No Human Is Limited.”
I spoke to CEO’s, accomplished ocean rowers, ministers and athletes over the years and it is almost a little disappointing that in most cases these are people that are like you and me. At the same time, it makes so much sense.
Each of these people grew up on the same planet as us, had access to similar tools and had similar dreams as us.
The only difference is that they acted on their dreams. They gave it a chance. They accepted that creating something special was going to be tough. That they would have to sacrifice so much for something where the chances of failure were high.
So, why not today? Why not you? Why not allow yourself to attempt something that seems impossible.
Today is the day to take the first step into the unknown.
First, you set sails, then you adjust them; not the other way around.
If you were looking for a sign, this is it.
D
