PRINCE Harry has announced he will take part in a race to the South Pole with a team of wounded British servicemen and women, including one from North Yorkshire.
Captain Ibrar Ali, 35, of Eggborough, near Selby, who lost his right arm in a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007, has been selected to join the Walking With The Wounded charity’s South Pole Allied Challenge later this year.
He told The Press of his “shock and awe” at the news, and revealed how he will brave temperatures as low as minus 40 C during the 330 km trek. He revealed his progress will be closely followed by his four-year-old daughter Zara, who lives in Haxby.
The UK team will take on teams from the United States and the Commonwealth in the race. Prince Harry said: “These men and women have given their all in the cause of freedom, in our cause.
“That they should once again step into the breach – this time facing down the extreme physical and mental challenges of trekking to the South Pole – just underlines their remarkable qualities.”
During the four-week Antarctic expedition the racers will drag sledges – known as pulks – weighing more than 150lb (68kg).
They will trek between nine and 13 miles each day.
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