Karen Darke

After Karen Darke was paralysed in an accident at 21, she set up Quest 79, a series of gruelling, global adventures to increase awareness of the possibilities of life after spinal cord injury. Her mantra, ‘anything is possible’, and her determination and sense of endurance inspired you. Last year, the Paralympic cyclist, who has sit-skied across ice caps, kayaked extreme latitudes and hand-cycled the world’s tallest mountain ranges, joined the Ocean X team, sailing from Iceland to Greenland. Contributing to research projects on board, she ended the journey with the Extreme E X Prix rally to raise awareness of climate change. Her advice for those ready to cast off limitation: don’t overthink and don’t over-plan.