Meet Preeti Maske (Fastest Woman Cyclist) and Other Remarkable Women Who Have Created History in 2022

2022 is a good time to be alive. Sure, the pandemic seems never-ending, there are ongoing wars and Mother Nature isn’t exactly pleased with humanity right now (climate change at all). But every day incredibly tenacious people are achieving amazing things that no one thought possible. Like scaling four, 8,000 metre mountain peaks in less than a month! Yep, someone did that. These people are the torch-bearers, giving us bursts of hope.

Today, we’ve rounded up 5 women of Indian origin that pushed their limits and went on to write themselves into history in 2022. Consider this your dose of Monday Motivation!

Preeti Maske

45-year-old Preeti Maske set an ultra-cycling world record by becoming the first woman to cycle solo from Leh-Ladakh to Manali. This arduous 430 km journey took her 55 hours and 13 minutes to complete. She began her ride on 22nd June 2022 and she arrived in Manali on 24th June. Guinness World Record had given her a timeframe of 60 hours to complete this challenge.

Preeti holds the title of the fastest woman cyclist on the Golden Quadrilateral comprising a distance of 6,000 kms. Talking about her massive feat, Preeti said, “To overcome illness, I started cycling at the age of 40. If I can overcome my fears, then any woman can. Twice I had to take oxygen en route due to breathlessness at high passes.”

Kasturi Savekar

On 14th May 2022, Kasturi Savekar, a 20-year-old girl from Kolhapur successfully summited Mt. Everest (8,849 metres) and waved the Indian flag. If this wasn’t incredible enough, on 30th April (less than two weeks before) Kasturi became the youngest person to summit Annapurna—considered one of the most difficult peaks to climb.

Jiya Rai

Jiya Rai, a 13-year-old girl with Autism, was awarded the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2022 in the open water swimming category. In March 2022, she swam from Sri Lanka to Dhanushkodi (a town in Tamil Nadu) covering the distance in 13 hours. Jiya battled currents and sea conditions and set an astounding record for swimming through the Palk straight between Rameswaram and Thalaimannar, Sri Lanka.

Jiya Rai’s father Madan Rai said, “For the first three hours, it was difficult for her to swim. My daughter, who suffers from autism and has lost the ability to speak, said that she considered it a great achievement to have swum through the Bay of Bengal in 13 hours.”

Baljeet Kaur

In May 2022, 27-year-old Baljeet Kaur proved that no dream is unattainable. She became the first Indian mountaineer to scale four, 8,000 metre peaks in less than a month. A feat. that most of us would deem impossible, her achievement remains unparalleled.

Baljeet scaled Mt. Lhotse (the fourth highest peak in the world) only a day after she had scaled Mt. Everest. Whoever told us superheroes don’t exist has never met Baljeet. Talking about her journey and success, Baljeet told ‘The Indian Express’, “It’s a huge honour for me to have successfully climbed four 8,000 metre mountains, including Mt Everest, in one season. I am thankful to God that I could achieve this.”

Preet Chandi

In January 2022, Preet Chandi, a 32-year-old British-Indian army officer made it in history books. After a 40-day trek, she completed a 700-mile journey in Antarctica and became the first woman of colour to explore the South Pole solo.

Preet told ‘The Washington Post’, “Antarctica was more than just a dream expedition for me. It was about showing that anyone can do anything, irrespective of their gender, background, or the community they belong to. The colour of my skin is important; it’s a big part of who I am. But it isn’t the only thing that defines me.”

She plans to set up an adventure grant for women who are also looking to undertake challenges and set records.

Kaamya Karthikeyan

At the tender age of 12, Kaamya Karthikeyan has become the youngest Indian to scale the summit of Mt Denali which is the highest peak in all of North America (standing at 20,310 feet). Kaamya is a 10th-standard student at the Navy Children School. On June 27th, she carried the Tricolour flag and the Naval Ensign to the peak, a brilliant feat! With this, the young mountaineer has completed the 5th milestone on the 7 summit challenge (which consists of scaling the highest peak in all 7 continents). She hopes to become the youngest person to complete this extremely arduous challenge.  

In January 2021 Kaamya received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (the highest civilian national honour for people under the age of 18) for her outstanding mountaineering achievements. 

We hope she succeeds in her quest!