Colliard Reaches South Pole, Breaks Speed Record

France’s Vincent Colliard has reached the South Pole, breaking the speed record from Hercules Inlet.

Colliard covered the 1,130km in 22 days, 6 hours and 8 minutes. He bested Norwegian Christian Eide’s 2011 time of 24 days, 1 hour, and 13 minutes by a little under two days.

Unlike some Antarctic speed records, which may be classified as the least slow in a very limited pool of competitors, Eide’s effort has long been considered exceptional. Over the years, others had tried to best it, but conditions had not been favorable.

Colliard averaged just over 50km per day.

Jerry Kobalenko

Jerry Kobalenko is the editor of ExplorersWeb. One of Canada’s premier arctic travelers, he is the author of The Horizontal Everest and Arctic Eden, and has just finished a book about adventures in Labrador. In 2018, he was awarded the Polar Medal by the Governor General of Canada and in 2022, he received the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for services to exploration.