After 38 days of hard trekking over 900km in temperatures as low as minus 30 deg C, Madam Sophia Pang became the first Singaporean woman to ski from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole.

The 37-year-old freelance IT and fitness trainer and mother of three was part of a team of seven women from the Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition.

900km on foot in sub-zero weather

By Grace Chua

THE seven women of the Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition had planned to have a day off from skiing, but the South Pole was in sight and they just could not wait.

At about 6am yesterday, Singapore time, they 'tweeted' on the social-networking website Twitter: 'We are getting ready to ski our last nautical miles to the South Pole! Yay!'

They had travelled nearly 900km on skis, and the final 12 took them to the South Pole at about 10am yesterday, Singapore time.

Preparing for the Pole

MADAM Sophia Pang, the first Singaporean woman to ski to the South Pole from the edge of Antarctica, had a team of doctors, physiologists, and dieticians on her side for five months.

The training programme was conducted by the Singapore Sports Medicine Centre and the Changi Sports Medicine Centre, said sports physician Ben Tan, who led the team.

Madam Pang did a combination of strength training, cardiovascular workouts, stretching and core exercises.

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