Gina Johansen – Endurance Athlete Preparing for a Solo Unsupported South Pole World Record

Gina Johansen is a Swedish-born endurance athlete, adventurer, and a track work rider based in Sydney and Norway. She is currently preparing for a world record attempt to become the fastest woman to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole in 2026.

She grew up on a horse farm in Sweden, where her love for horses and the outdoors began early. Gina spent eight years riding trackwork for leading Thoroughbred racing stables in Australia and is now back riding racehorses in Sydney alongside her polar training.

Her previous expeditions include becoming the first woman to cross Lake Baikal in Siberia solo by foot, skiing solo from North Cape to Jäckvik, crossing Svalbard on skis, cycling 2700km from Sydney to Cairns, and hiking the full length of Norway with her partner and their dog. She also spent eight years living near North Cape, the northernmost point of Europe, training in extreme Arctic conditions.

Through her journey, Gina hopes to inspire others—especially women—to push beyond their limits, take on big challenges, and discover what they're truly capable of.

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Show notes

From Sweden originally  Being based in Northern Norway (North Cape) for the past 8 years before moving to Sydney in December 2025 Riding racehorse in the early morning and training for her South Pole Expedition in the afternoon  Her goal - to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole, attempting to break the women's speed record Gina shared her story on the Tough Girl Podcast - April 28th 2020 - Walking 3,000km the length of Norway, plus a solo crossing of Lake Baikal in Siberia You can listen to that episode HERE  What's been going on in the past 6 years  Living in remote mountain areas doing a lot of skiing, hiking, hunting and dealing with a lot of injuries  Trying to work on the financials to pay for the expedition  Doing training expeditions and building up her skills  After the Lake Baikal expedition in 2019 - starting to think about the next big challeng