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Mark Beaumont is a celebrated athlete, adventurer, broadcaster and ambassador, holding the world record as the quickest person to cycle around the world in 80 days.
Beaumont's passion started aged 15 when he completed a solo bike ride along the entire length of Great Britain, from John O'Groats in Scotland to Land's End in Cornwall. His most accomplished feat came in 2008 when he broke the Guinness World Record for cycling around the world, raising £18,000 for charity. It was broken in 2010 but he regained his title in 2017, when he again cycled around the world, this time in 78 days, a 29,000km route that saw him begin and end in Paris, riding through the Middle East, 20 European countries, India, Asia, Australasia and North America.
Many of his endeavours have featured as BBC broadcasts, including cycling the Americas where he ventured across 13,000 miles in 268 days, as well as climbing the highest peaks in North and South America. His 10,000km ride from Cairo to Cape Town also broke another world record for the fastest solo ride along the length of Africa, which he completed in 42 days. Not all plain sailing, in 2012 Beaumont and his team of rowers found themselves in a capsized rowing boat during their attempt to cross from Morocco to Barbados, subsequently needing rescuing.
In 2012, Beaumont was the first torchbearer for day 26 of the Summer Olympics torch relay, and in the 2018 New Year Honours was awarded the British Empire Medal for "services to sport, broadcasting and charity". Outside of sport and broadcasting, Mark is a business ambassador and speaker, as well as working with a number of charities and educational organisations.
Mark Beaumont is the author of:
• The Man who Cycled the World
• The Man Who Cycled The Americas
• Africa Solo: My World Record Race from Cairo to Cape Town