Preet Chandi

Harpreet Kaur Chandi (born 1988 or 1989) is a British Army medical officer and physiotherapist. She is the first known woman of colour to finish a solo expedition to reach the South Pole. She finished her expedition  on 3 January 2022.

Military career
Chandi joined the Army Reserves when she was 19 and then the British Army at 27. On 23 March 2013, she was a lance corporal. She received a Territorial Army commission as a lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). She was promoted to captain on 15 December 2016. 

She was commissioned into the Army Reserves in 2012 and joined the Regular Army in 2016.

Expedition
Chandi began her solo expedition on 7 November 2021, leaving from Antarctica's Hercules Inlet. The journey to the South Pole involved travelling a distance of . Chandi was not the first woman to successfully complete a solo expedition to the South Pole, with the journey first being undertaken by Norway's Liv Arnesen. It was not until 1935 that the first woman, Caroline Mikkelsen walked on any part of the Antarctic continent."Women in Antarctica: Sharing this Life-Changing Experience" , transcript of speech by Robin Burns, given at the 4th Annual Phillip Law Lecture; Hobart, Tasmania, Australia; 18 June 2005. Retrieved 5 August 2010.

Chandi completed her journey in 40 days, 7 hours and 3 minutes, making her the third fastest solo woman to reach the South Pole, behind Johanna Davidsson of Sweden and Hannah McKeand from Great Britain. Felicity Aston was the first solo woman and first person to only use muscle power to complete the challenge taking 59 days.

References

Other websites
 "Polar Preet"  website

Category:1980s births
Category:Living people
Category:British Army officers
Category:British explorers
Category:People from Derby