Marin Minamiya, the Youngest Grand Slam Explorer at 20

A solid line drive over the centerfielder into the grandstand will make a grand slam in baseball; so will a clean sweep of four major tournaments be good enough for a grand slam in tennis  - but you would have to climb the highest peak in each of the seven continents and  visit the magnetic north and south poles to accomplish a grand slam. What a game!

The Explorers Grand Slam is "the game" in question and a 20-year-old coed, Marin Minamiya of Waseda University,  just completed the feat as the first Japanese ever to challenge the adventure.

Miss Minamiya told the press in her interview on April 19:

"I've experienced some moving moments along the way and have found out for real how beautiful our earth is.

"Now that I've done it, I feel so relieved, ready to go home and lie down in my bed.

"A white bear came some meters away. It was scary.

"I was not aiming at being the youngest to challenge the feat. It was only that I was so eager to do this at an age that happened to be the youngest. I sure hope my experience motivates young ones to challenge adventures."

Marin set out for the trial last May at age 19 with the world's highest peak Mt. Everest and conquered all the summits in the seven continents by July - the youngest Japanese ever to cover them all.

This month she left north latitude 89°,  moved 120 kilometers by the glaciers and reached the north pole on April 12. Miss Minamiya is the 53rd adventurer and the youngest to accomplish the feat at age 20.

Marin Minamiya wishes now to challenge oceanic adventures. (Nathan Shiga)

Source: NHK