Video: Cool fulfils Olympic pledge to take medal to Everest peak (From Bucks Free Press)

Video: Cool fulfils Olympic pledge to take medal to Everest peak

12:40pm Thursday 31st May 2012 in News By Simon Farr

MOUNTAINEER Kenton Cool has fulfilled an age-old Olympic pledge - and set a new record in process – by carrying a gold medal to the highest point on Earth.

The ex-John Hampden Grammar School pupil scaled Mount Everest for the tenth time on Friday and, with it, realised the dream of Lt Col Edward Strutt to take an Olympic medal to the summit of the world’s highest mountain.

The 38-year-old transported the 1924 Winter Olympics medal awarded to Dr Arthur Wakefield - a member of the failed 1922 British expedition led by Lt Col Strutt - to the summit to finally fulfil the pledge.

In a video of the final few steps (below), an emotional Mr Cool said: “88 years it has taken, the pledge had to be fulfilled and this is it – we’ve done it.

“We are on top of the world and here is the medal, Arthur Wakefield’s medal, awarded by [Pierre de] Coubertin himself.

“This medal means so much to me and so much to so many, it is amazing. We’re there.“

Pupils and teachers, who used to teach Mr Cool, at John Hampden sent the climber messages of good luck throughout his record-breaking excursion.

Deputy headteacher Andy Wright said he expected Mr Cool to return to the Handy Cross-based school in ‘the near future’ to talk about the pledge.