Anne-Marie Flammersfeld of Germany emerged as the first woman to ever win all four events in the 4 Deserts series—and not only that, she did it all in one year. “My objective was the 4 Deserts Grand Slam,” explains the 34-year old fitness trainer and sports scientist who is based in Switzerland. “I started training mid-2011. The Atacama Crossing was my first ultra ever and it was all about the first experience... It was really only after the Sahara Race that I knew I could do this.”

 

There was also a remarkable victory for overall race winner, Vicente Juan Garcia Beneito. The Spanish racer came to Antarctica having already won each of the 4 Deserts races in 2012, including the Atacama Crossing (Chile), the Gobi March (China) and Sahara Race (Egypt). By winning The Last Desert (Antarctica), he joins Ryan Sandes as the only other person to have been champion of every race in the 4 Deserts series—but Beneito has taken it up a notch by winning them all in one calendar year for the first time.

 

“I’m really happy, this is a dream come true,” said the Spaniard. “This was the hardest race for me, I really had to focus. The terrain was a challenge, also the unpredictability of the conditions and weather. It was also hard because the Sahara Race was so close. I have had a problem in my foot, the tendons have been inflamed.”

 

Germany’s Michael Brehe took second overall position, powering through every stage with a deft ability to race across snow and ice. Anne-Marie Flammersfeld was third overall winner and Japan’s Hidechika Kadasawa came in fourth position. In the women’s division, two great athletes tied as second-placed females: Nahila Hernandez San Juan of Mexico and Australia’s Sandy Suckling.