Prince Harry to race to South Pole

GlobalPost

Prince Harry announced Friday he will join a team of wounded British servicemen and women in a race to the South Pole.

Also competing in the 208-mile (335km) Walking With The Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge in November and December are teams from Australia, America and Canada, AP reported.

The 28-year-old army captain told a press conference in London the event would raise money for retraining wounded soldiers.

He said it also aimed to demonstrate how to "meet a challenge head-on and overcome it and inspire others to do the same."

Among the participants in the British team are Sgt Duncan Slater, 34, from Scotland, who lost both his legs in a blast in Afghanistan in 2009 and Major Kate Philp, 34, who lost her left leg in 2008, the BBC reported. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, these men and women have given their all in the cause of freedom, in our cause," he told the media in London, Sky News reported.

"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."

Prince Harry joked that his team would be first to reach the South Pole and would have a cup of tea brewing for the other three teams. 

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.