Mark Pollock

Mark Pollock (born 29 February 1976) is an international motivational speaker, explorer, and author from Ireland who became the first blind man to race to the South Pole. As part of a three-man team called South Pole Flag, alongside Simon O'Donnell and Inge Solheim, he took 43 days in January 2009 to complete the Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race. They finished fifth overall from the six teams that finished the race, but Pollock asserted his disability had slowed him down. He had participated against nine other teams, including that of BBC personality Ben Fogle and the Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell, a friend of Pollock.

Early life and background Pollock was born to Barbara and Johnny He later studied Business and Economics in Trinity College Dublin, where he became a champion schools rower and captain of the university's rowing club but aged 22 he lost the sight in his left eye, resulting in total blindness. In 2010, just weeks before his wedding, Pollock fell from an upstairs window, breaking his back and fracturing his skull. This caused bleeding on the brain and resulted in paralysis.

Blindness quote= "I just wanted to be independent again. I started to get the tools that might help me: my computer; my speaking clock; my watch; Larry, my guide dog". — Pollock on his search for independence.

South Pole trek Pollock travelled to the South Pole in January 2009. The trek cost Pollock around €250,000. He hosted the documentary series Yes I Can which aired in November 2011 on Setanta Sports.

Paralysis In July 2010, Mark fell from a second storey window. He broke his back and was left paralysed. He has sought spinal cord injury recovery through aggressive physical therapy and robotic technology.

Pollock has embarked on an experimental treatment in an effort to overcome his paralysis in cooperation with an innovative treatment centre in California called Project Walk.

In 2015, Pollock sued Enda and Madeline Cahill, his friends and owners of the property he was staying at when he had his fall, claiming the Cahills had disregarded a "reasonably foreseeable risk" of him being seriously injured and that they should have made sure the window remained closed or at least warned him it was open. The court found the couple liable saying he was "satisfied that the Cahills failed to discharge the common law duty of care they owed as occupiers. The open window was a real risk to Mr Pollock. They created that risk". Pollock's lawyers confirmed he had limited his claim to a maximum of £2 million, the limit of the Cahills' household insurance, so the couple did not have to pay out themselves.

Honors and awards In addition to the honorary degree awarded by Trinity College, Dublin mentioned above, Pollock has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Queen's University Belfast, and has been named a Young Global Leader. Mark also was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2015 by Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

In 2012, Pollock was honored with a Rehab People of the Year Award.

In 2020, Pollock was awarded UCD Alumnus of the Year in Business.