Twice first in history: Ukrainian climber sets two records in one day

Antonina Samoilova, a Ukrainian mountaineer, reports becoming the first Ukrainian woman to summit two eight-thousanders in a single day.

She wrote on Instagram that at dawn on 22 May, Samoilova summited Mount Everest, and by 6 am on 23 May, she had also conquered Lhotse. This feat made her the first Ukrainian woman in history to summit Everest three times.

Samoilova climbed Everest to raise funds for Ukraine’s Armed Forces. She carried a photo of a person who donated to the Ukrainian volunteer medical battalion Hospitallers, with participants entered into a random draw.

Samoilova was the only Ukrainian to bring the national flag to the summit of Everest in 2022, carrying the message “Stand with Ukraine.”

In 2023, she made history by capturing the world’s first drone footage from Everest’s summit with the Ukrainian flag. The video went viral across Ukrainian and international media, reminding the world of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

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