Expedition cyclist, explorer and passionate advocate for human rights and social justice Dr Kate Leeming, a graduate of The University of Western Australia, has been recognised with an Order of Australia medal for service to adventure sports in this year’s Australia Day Honours as she prepares for her next gruelling challenge.

Since 2013, the passionate adventurer, who grew up on a Northam wheat and sheep farm and won five Australian Open real tennis singles titles, has completed cycling expeditions on every continent on Earth in either polar conditions, across sand or at high altitude.

Image: Kate at the pass overlooking Tupiza in southern Bolivia, 2022.

Not content with challenging herself, the UWA Physical Education graduate, who was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Education in 2016, has used her adventures to highlight pressing global issues including extreme poverty, sustainability and education.

Her Breaking the Cycle brand includes an education program that connects students around the world, enabling them to follow her travels, tap into an experiential learning curriculum and learn about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, as well as study key issues in each region.

A member of the internationally renowned The Explorer’s Club, Dr Leeming considers her 2010 Breaking the Cycle in Africa, the first bicycle crossing of the African continent in a continuous line – from its most westerly to its most easterly point – her biggest achievement to date.

“I arrived at Cape Hafun in Somalia four days ahead of schedule, after cycling 22,040km through 20 countries in 10 months, with no significant injuries or illnesses and having achieved all of my key missions,” she said.

The author and film producer said she was motivated to undertake the expedition to explore the causes and effects of extreme poverty, specifically what is being done to give a 'leg up' rather than a 'hand out'.

Image: Kate celebrating reaching the Skeleton Coast near the town of Oranjemund.

The first woman in history to cycle across the new Russia in 1993 in aid of the children of Chernobyl, in 2004/2005 Dr Leeming completed the Great Australian Cycle Expedition, a 25,000km journey that was Australia's first official activity for UNESCO's Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. 

Her next major challenge, Breaking the Cycle South Pole, will see her attempt to make the first bicycle crossing of the Antarctic Continent, coast to coast via the South Pole, at the end of the year.

To prepare physically and mentally, Dr Leeming has completed four polar training expeditions (in Svalbard, Norway, in Northeast Greenland, Arctic Canada and Iceland).

Image: Kate at the end of her Northeast Greenland expedition in 2017.

Between May and August this year, Dr Leeming plans to pedal across Australia, 7,500km tracing the tracks of intrepid pioneers and engaging with Indigenous elders so that she can contribute to the current national conversation about reconciliation.

The explorer admits to a fascination for early pioneers. In 1897, her great-great uncle, William Snell, cycled across the Nullarbor Plain from the WA goldfields to Melbourne, so he could propose to his childhood sweetheart. 

However, it was a chance meeting with veteran UK polar explorer Robert Swan OBE in 1993 that cemented her passion for making a difference through adventure.

“Robert taught me that there could be far more value to what I was doing than simply riding a bike,” she said. “I love applying my skill and determination in my expeditions, and creating the subsequent blogs, books, films, presentations and articles to inspire positive actions in others.

“Travelling by bicycle gives a great sense of place and offers a realistic perspective of how the world fits together, but there is still much more to do. Being recognised through the Order of Australia affirms that my commitment to my projects over the last 30 years is significant and appreciated at a national level.”