This much I know: Mark Pollock - explorer/campaigner

Sometimes we choose our challenges. And, sometimes, challenges choose us. What we decide to do about them is what counts.

One of my earliest memories is being in hospital for an operation on my eye, when I was five. I was born very short-sighted and had always worn thick glasses, but then I lost the sight in my right eye, following a detached retina.

From when I was very young, I wanted to compete. The only problem was that I wasn’t allowed to play the contact sports offered at my school, because of the possibility of detaching my other retina — I needed to be careful with the remaining good eye. I had to wait until I could start competing in rowing, sailing and cross country running from the age of 11 on.