Colin O'Brady

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Colin O'Brady (2016)

Colin O'Brady (born March 16, 1985 in Olympia , Washington ) is an American endurance and extreme athlete and former triathlete . He completed the Explorers Grand Slam and the necessary ascent of the Seven Summits in world record time and set another record with the fastest ascent of the highest elevations in the 50 US states . According to his own statements, 2018 brought him the first solo crossing of the Antarctic continent without aids and international attention. However, this is considered controversial in the professional world, as it lags behind the Børge Ouslands expedition of 1996/97 in terms of length .

biography

Youth and education

Colin O'Brady grew up in Portland , Oregon . In the mountains of the Pacific Northwest , he discovered his love for outdoor sports and was a member of the Boy Scouts of America as a child . At the same time he began to compete in swimming and soccer, and was among the best in his state in both sports by entering high school . While working as a house painter in the summers, he made the jump to Yale University as a swimmer . In the NCAA team of the Yale Bulldogs he was active as a breaststroke swimmer and achieved personal bests of 58.33 seconds and 2: 07.07 minutes over the short course distances of 100 and 200 meters respectively. In 2006 he completed an economics degree with a bachelor's degree .

After college, O'Brady planned a year-long trip around the world with a backpack and surfboard . On January 14th, 2008, the trip came to an abrupt end on the beach on the Thai island of Ko Tao . When reckless jumping over a kerosene- soaked and standing in flames rope he suffered burns second and third degree burns to 22% of his body surface and could only be saved by a sprint to the nearby sea. After initial aid, he was transferred to Ko Samui and a week later to Bangkok , where he spent a total of a month. Doctors warned him that the scar tissue might prevent him from walking properly. He returned to Portland in a wheelchair after taking a few careful steps. There he took a job as a commodity trader .

Triathlon

Encouraged by his mother, O'Brady fought his way back to life and set out for a career in triathlon . After a full year of rehabilitation , he began preparation in the winter of 2009 and competed for the first time in Chicago just 18 months after his injury . Surprisingly, he prevailed against around 5000 competitors and won the competition in the amateur class . In another race over the Olympic distance in Racine , Wisconsin , he qualified on the national age group for the ITU - World Cup 2010 in Budapest . Sponsored by a commercial entrepreneur he was friends with, he switched to the professionals and in the following years completed a mix of World Cup and Continental Cup competitions with the aim of qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro . Between 2009 and 2015 he competed in races in 25 countries on six continents. He achieved his best time over the Olympic distance with 1: 51.09 hours as early as 2010 during the World Cup. With four World Cup starts, rank 36 in Edmonton in 2013 remained his best place in the general class. He finished his last triathlon, the Ironman Japan , in August 2015 in 10: 14.12 hours in ninth place.

As a keen mountaineer, he proposed to his partner Jenna Besaw on the Andean summit of Cayambe .

Expeditions

Explorers Grand Slam

Colin O'Brady reached the South Pole on January 10, 2016, 139 days later ...
... he finished the Exploreres Grand Slam at Denali in record time.

O'Brady abandoned his Olympic ambitions and instead focused on another project. For 2016, he decided to be the first man to complete the so-called Explorers Grand Slam , consisting of climbing the Seven Summits and two ski expeditions to the North and South Poles , within six months. In the run-up to the project, he and his manager and fiancé Jenna Besaw founded the non-profit organization Beyond 7/2, which aims to inspire children and young people to lead an active, healthy life and to fight obesity . The goal was to raise $ 1 million in donations during his record attempt.

On January 10, 2016, O'Brady reached the South Pole and began his ten-part expedition. Within the first month he climbed the highest peaks in Antarctica , South America and Africa - he conquered the Aconcagua on his own. After a phase of regeneration, he followed the highest mountains in Oceania and Europe in March . A month later he reached the North Pole and four weeks later he climbed the highest peaks in Asia and North America . O'Brady needed a total of 139 days for the Grand Slam, which he completed on May 27, 2016 at Denali . The previous world record was held by former Welsh rugby player Richard Parks at 194 days . The American was also the youngest graduate of the prestigious Challenge and set another record with a time of 132 days for the Seven Summits. He also mastered the Three Poles Challenge, a combination of climbing Mount Everest and reaching the two poles, in 131 days in record time.

Throughout the entire project, he stayed in touch with his fan base through his blog and social media - on May 19, he became the first person to send a video via Snapchat from the summit of Mount Everest. Following that experience, O'Brady began giving TED talks to audiences including Google , Samsung, and P&G . The TED Talk in his hometown of Portland became the most watched of the summer of 2017 worldwide with over 1 million views.

50HP

In the summer of 2018, O'Brady started another record attempt by climbing all the highest peaks of the 50 US states ( high points ) within one month and breaking the existing record of 41 days. On June 27, 2018, he stood on Denali and thus opened the series of summits. After a time-saving ski run, he reached Hawaii within 24 hours and then continued his journey in the continental states . On July 1st, he climbed six high points in Florida , Louisiana , Arkansas , Missouri , Mississippi and Alabama . After further easy surveys in the Appalachian Mountains and in the Midwest , he was forced to change his planning due to two forest fires . In the last eight days of his journey he climbed eight high alpine peaks, including six four-thousanders , and on July 19, after a total of 23 days, he reached Mount Hood in his home state of Oregon.

While O'Brady and his team covered around 16,000 km in a sponsor's motorhome , a private plane was available for longer distances. On the overseas routes, he was dependent on scheduled flights. In total, he covered almost 500 km on foot - 240 of them in the last week alone, when he slept an average of two hours a night. Some points, such as Hoosier Hill in Indiana , were accessed by car, while others required extensive ascent routes. To remote Gannett Peak in Wyoming , O'Brady walked 20 miles there and back in 26 hours. Apart from Denali, he did without heavy luggage in order to be able to cover as many routes as possible at a running pace. He climbed many of the peaks in the company of friends or other hikers, which he himself described as the " Forrest Gump Effect".

The Impossible First

Just a month later, O'Brady began preparing for his next project. Together with six international companions, he crossed the Greenland ice sheet on skis . The team needed a good four weeks for the approximately 640 km long route between Isertoq and Kangerlussuaq .

Routes from O'Brady / Rudd (green) and Ousland (red) in comparison

At the end of October 2018, O'Brady started his largest venture to date in Punta Arenas . Together with the British Army - Captain Louis Rudd , he traveled to the Antarctic Logistics & Expedition Base Camp at Union Glacier , the first complete crossing of the Antarctic continent alone and unaided ( The Impossible First to accomplish). The two started their ski expedition on November 3rd and soon separated from each other. During the first week, O'Brady overtook his competitor and covered more than 30 km per day in an average of twelve hours. He took a single long break on November 29th when he lost a skin and was forced to set up a warehouse to put his ski back in order. On December 12th, he reached the South Pole with his 180-kilo sled. On Christmas Eve he made the spontaneous decision to cover the last 125 km in a row and managed to do this in a 32-hour show of strength. After a total of 54 days and almost 1500 km, he reached his destination on the Leverett Glacier , where he waited two days for Rudd to arrive.

The New York Times praised the expedition as "one of the most remarkable exploits in polar history" and compared it to the race to the South Pole between Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott . After the international media had initially unanimously celebrated O'Brady's achievement as a historic success, criticism of the American became loud. Børge Ousland , who crossed the land mass on his own in 1996/97, but was partially pulled by a paraglider , claimed the record for himself. Unlike O'Brady, he also crossed the ice shelf that is generally part of the continent and thus covered a distance of 2845 km ( Berkner Island - McMurdo Station ). In addition, the technical possibilities of orientation and communication more than 20 years earlier had made the undertaking much more difficult. The Norwegian emphasized that he did not want to diminish O'Brady's performance, but felt that his self-portrayal ignored him.

Another point of criticism concerned the routing of the 2018 expedition. Both Colin O'Brady and Louis Rudd completed the last 600 km between the South Pole and the Leverett Glacier on the groomed McMurdo-South Pole Highway . On the path, which is flagged at regular intervals, not only glacier crevasses are defused, in contrast to the pimple-hard Sastrugi in the area, it is also reasonably flat. Experienced Australian polar adventurer Eric Philips said that an expedition could not be considered "unaided" if you were "walking on a road that doubles your speed and eliminates the need for navigation".

successes

Explorers Grand Slam

  • Completion of the Explorer Grand Slam in a world record time of 138 days, 5 hours and 5 minutes.
  • Ascent of the Seven Summits in the world record time of 131 days, 12 hours and 26 minutes.
  1. South Pole - January 10, 2016
  2. Mount Vinson ( Antarctica's highest point ) - January 17th, 2016
  3. Aconcagua ( South America ) - January 31, 2016
  4. Kilimanjaro ( Africa ) - February 9, 2016
  5. Mount Kosciuszko ( Australia ) * - February 17, 2016
  6. Carstensz Pyramid (Australia) - March 4th 2016
  7. Elbrus ( Europe ) - March 10, 2016
  8. North Pole - April 19, 2016
  9. Mount Everest (highest point on earth and Asia ) - May 19, 2016
  10. Denali ( North America ) - May 27, 2016

* Dick Bass names Mount Kosciuszko, Reinhold Messner the Carstensz pyramid as the highest peak in Australia.

50 high points

  1. Denali ( Alaska ) - June 27, 2018
  2. Mauna Kea ( Hawaii ) - June 29, 2018
  3. Wheeler Peak ( New Mexico ) - June 30, 2018
  4. Black Mesa ( Oklahoma ) - June 30, 2018
  5. Britton Hill ( Florida ) - July 1, 2018
  6. Driskill Mountain ( Louisiana ) - July 1, 2018
  7. Mount Magazine ( Arkansas ) - July 1, 2018
  8. Taum Sauk Mountain ( Missouri ) - July 1, 2018
  9. Campbell Hill ( Mississippi ) - July 1, 2018
  10. Cheaha Mountain ( Alabama ) - July 1, 2018
  11. Brasstown Bald ( Georgia ) - July 2, 2018
  12. Sassafras Mountain ( South Carolina ) - July 2, 2018
  13. Clingmans Dome ( Tennessee ) - July 2, 2018
  14. Mount Mitchell ( North Carolina ) - July 3, 2018
  15. Mount Rogers ( Virginia ) - July 3, 2018
  16. Black Mountain ( Kentucky ) - July 3, 2018
  17. Hoosier Hill ( Indiana ) - July 3 2018
  18. Campbell Hill ( Ohio ) - July 3, 2018
  19. Spruce Knob ( West Virginia ) - July 4, 2018
  20. Blackbone Mountain ( Maryland ) - July 4, 2018
  21. Mount Davis ( Pennsylvania ) - July 4, 2018
  22. Ebright Azimuth ( Delaware ) - July 4, 2018
  23. High Point, New Jersey - July 5, 2018
  24. Jerimoth Hill ( Rhode Iceland ) - July 5, 2018
  25. Mount Frissell ( Connecticut ) - July 5, 2018
  26. Mount Greylock ( Massachusetts ) - July 5, 2018
  27. Mount Marcy ( New York ) - July 5, 2018
  28. Mount Mansfield ( Vermont ) - July 6 2018
  29. Mount Washington ( New Hampshire ) - July 6, 2018
  30. Mount Katahdin ( Maine ) - July 7, 2018
  31. Mount Arvon ( Michigan ) - July 7, 2018
  32. Eagle Mountain ( Minnesota ) - July 7, 2018
  33. Timms Hill ( Wisconsin ) - July 8, 2018
  34. Hawkeye Point ( Iowa ) - July 8, 2018
  35. Charles Mound ( Illinois ) - July 8, 2018
  36. White Butte ( North Dakota ) - July 8, 2018
  37. Black Elk Peak ( South Dakota ) - 9 July 2018
  38. Guadalupe Peak ( Texas ) - 9 July 2018
  39. Boundary Peak ( Nevada ) - July 10, 2018
  40. Humphreys Peak ( Arizona ) - July 11, 2018
  41. Panorama Point ( Nebraska ) - July 12, 2018
  42. Mount Sunflower ( Kansas ) - July 12, 2018
  43. Mount Elbert ( Colorado ) - July 12, 2018
  44. Mount Whitney ( CA ) - July 13, 2018
  45. Kings Peak ( Utah ) - July 14, 2018
  46. Gannett Peak ( Wyoming ) - July 15, 2018
  47. Borah Peak ( Idaho ) - July 16, 2018
  48. Granite Peak ( Montana ) - July 17, 2018
  49. Mount Rainier ( Washington ) - July 18, 2018
  50. Mount Hood ( Oregon ) - July 19, 2018

More expeditions

Web links

Commons : Colin O'Brady  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e About. Colin O'Brady, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b Colin O'Brady climbing mountains in more ways than one. NBC , accessed January 15, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Colin O'Brady. Yale University , accessed January 15, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b Kat Hunter: Real Life of the Pros: ITU triathlete Colin O'Brady. Austin Tricyclist, July 31, 2013, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Colin O'Brady. ITU , accessed January 15, 2019 .
  6. ↑ 08/23/2015 Results: Japan. Ironman , August 23, 2015, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Martin Schauhuber: Colin O'Brady: Almost burned and alone through the Antarctic. Der Standard , December 27, 2018, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  8. ^ A b Mike Ragogna: Ain't No Mountain High Enough: A Conversation with Colin O'Brady. Huffpost , March 8, 2016, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Sophia June: Record Breaker Colin O'Brady Is Portland's Best Explorer. Williamette Week, December 7, 2016, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Portland man gears up to top world's tallest peaks. KOIN.com, August 6, 2015, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  11. ↑ a b Josh Samperio: Meet the man who climbed America's 50 highest summits in just 21 days. Red Bull , July 23, 2018, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  12. ↑ a b Jason Vondersmith: Climb Every Mountain in Record Time. Portland Tribune, July 23, 2018, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  13. ↑ a b Greenland Crossing! August / September 2018. Colin O'Brady, September 20, 2018, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  14. ^ A b Adam Skolnick: Colin O'Brady Completes Crossing of Antarctica With Final 32-Hour Push. The New York Times , December 26, 2018, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  15. ^ Crossed Antarctica alone for the first time. ORF , December 27, 2018, accessed on January 15, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Linn Blomkvist: Polfarere uenige etter at American hevdet han krysset Antarctica helt uten hjelp. NRK , December 29, 2018, accessed January 15, 2019 (Norwegian).
  17. ^ David Roberts: The First Solo Antarctic Traverse. The New York Times , January 3, 2019, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Peter Winsor: O'Brady's Antarctic Crossing: Was It Really Unassisted? Explorers Web, December 27, 2018, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Fastest time to complete the climb the Seven Summits and ski the polar last degrees (male). Guinness World Records , accessed January 16, 2019 .
  20. ↑ 139 Days: A World Record Journey. Colin O'Brady / YouTube, July 1, 2016, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  21. ↑ The Journey - Colin O'Bready breaks Explorers Grand Slam world record. Beyond 7/2, May 28, 2016, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Fastest time to climb the Seven Summits including Carstensz (male). Guinness World Records , accessed January 16, 2019 .
  23. ^ The 50 High Points. Colin O'Brady, accessed January 15, 2019 .
  24. ^ A World First. Colin O'Brady, accessed January 15, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME O'Brady, Colin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American extreme athlete
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1985
PLACE OF BIRTH Olympia (Washington)