The hands of those who want to challenge the world, its pitfalls, overcome themselves, taking human resistance to the limit. In prohibitive conditions with a philanthropic purpose and a more purely sporting one. They are the hands of Alex Gregory , British Olympic champion who won five gold medals at the World Championships and two in the “4 without” in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 .
Blisters, blisters all over the palm, wrinkled fingertips : it doesn’t have to be exciting to have drenched quanta for hours and hours while rowing in the freezing polar waters . Gregory was part of a team of rowers who, starting July 20, 2017, sailed the icy seas with the aim of crossingil circolo polare Artico da Sud a Nord.
A photo of my hands after spending so long in wet gloves. The blisters were never bad on this row, but the wet and damp seeped into the skin. It’s been one hell of an experience! I’m so glad I was a part of @thepolarrow but I also cannot wait to be home… #rowing #recovery #wet #freezing #hands #whitewalker #oceanrowing #gruesome #homesoon
Un post condiviso da Alex Gregory (@alexgregorygb) in data: 30 Ago 2017 alle ore 04:58 PDT
“The Polar Row”, the pioneering enterprise, initially, involved two steps: the first leg of the expedition started from Tromso (Norway) to arrive in Longyearbyen (Svalbard) thus touching the northernmost point ever reached by a rowing crew. While other records were being scrapped, the boys’ initial plan was to reach Iceland, but due to various difficulties, including cutting winds, the crew ended the voyage in Jan Mayen. The team, remember, did not have sails or engines available and the effects are all seen in the hands of Alex Gregory.
I always felt I had to concentrate hard to be ready for what was coming towards us. Every now and then we’d get a wave that we hadn’t seen coming from a random direction that would shock us, but we could mostly watch and predict what was coming. Here me, Sam Vye and Tyler Carnevale are rowing in the cold rough wet conditions we encountered for many days…normally in rowing we say eyes in the boat, here it was all about eyes out of the boat!! #polarrow #oceanrowing #rowinglife #waves #wind #rough #rowing #recovery #focus #endurance #24hourdaylight #arcticadventures #arcticcircle #whitehorses
Un post condiviso da Alex Gregory (@alexgregorygb) in data: 30 Ago 2017 alle ore 12:19 PDT
Come detto la spedizione aveva uno scopo benefico, ovvero find funds to build a school in India, in the Himalaya region . But on that occasion, the team set 11 world records out of the 12 it had set for itself. Here are some of them: the northernmost latitude (78 ° 15’20 “) reached by a rowing group, the fastest crossing of the Arctic ocean, first people to cross the Southern Arctic ocean to the north, largest crew, five members, in this particular discipline. Here is the complete list .
Two weeks after getting off the boat and hands looking good. They were so quickly back to normal after drying out. Skin is an amazing thing! #polarrow #skin #hands #dryingout #recovery #adventure #rowinglife #arcticocean #nearlyhome #norway
A post shared by Alex Gregory (@alexgregorygb) on: 3 Sep 2017 at 09:09 PDT
The hands Gregory decided to photograph recall the legs of cyclist Pawel Poljanski marked by the fatigue of the Tour de France .