Khoo Swee Chiow

Khoo Swee Chiow (Chinese: 邱瑞昭; pinyin: Qiū Ruìzhāo; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Khu Suī-tsiau; born November 16, 1964 in Port Dickson, Malaysia) is a Singaporean adventurer, author and motivational speaker. Khoo is the 1st South East Asian and the 4th person in the world to complete The Explorers Grand Slam, that is, the South Pole, the North Pole and the Seven Summits.

Khoo climbed Mount Everest in 1998 as a member of Singapore's first Mount Everest expedition. In 1999, he skied to the South Pole as the leader of Singapore first Antarctica expedition, covering a distance of 1,125 km in 57 days. In 2001, he climbed Mount Ararat in Turkey together with six other Everest summitters from Turkey, Colombia, the United States and Mexico as part of a Peace Climb project to raise funds and promote international friendship. In that same year, he climbed Shishapangma in Tibet becoming the first South East Asian to climb an 8,000-metre peak without supplemental oxygen.

In 2002, he skied to the North Pole with Arctic guide Paul Landry and a dog named Apu, after failing the previous year due to frostbite on a finger. Khoo becomes the first South East Asian and the fourth person in the world to complete "The Adventure Grand Slam," that is, the South Pole, the North Pole and the Seven Summits. He lost his bid to sail around the world in 2003, as his expedition was canceled due to lack of funding during the SARS outbreak and Iraq War period.

In that same year, he cycled from Singapore to Beijing in 73 days covering 8,066 km. In 2004, Khoo attempted to climb Mount Everest without oxygen but had to turn back 400 metres below the summit due to exhaustion.

On December 5, 2004, he successfully swam the Straits of Malacca from Tanjung Rupat in Indonesia to Port Dickson, in 22 hours over a distance of 40 km. He had been inspired to perform this feat at the age of six, after watching a Japanese man who was the first man to ever swim across the straits, starting his swim in front of his house. His attempt at swimming the English Channel in the summer of 2005, however, was unsuccessful due to hypothermia.

On Jul 31, 2012, Singapore adventurer and motivational speaker Khoo Swee Chiow, 48, has become the first Southeast Asian to reach the summit of K2 in Pakistan. The Seagate Technology K2 2012 expedition saw Mr Khoo reach the summit on the morning of July 31 after a 32-day climb in sub-zero temperatures. He was accompanied by an international team of 10 other climbers.

In December 2005, broke the Guinness World Record of the Longest Scuba Submergence (controlled environment). Khoo spent 220 hours underwater as opposed to the previous record of 212.5 hours. The record was subsequently broken on August 30, 2009 by Cem Karabay and now stands at 240 hours.

In August 2003, Khoo published his first book called Journeys to the Ends of the Earth. His second book Singapore to Beijing on a Bike was published in June 2007.

Khoo is married to Wee Leng, she is an adventurer in her own right. She was in the Singapore National Dragon Boat Team, Co-leader of 1st Singapore Team to Eco-Challenge Sabah 2000 and has completed 3 marathons. Wee Leng is the 1st Singaporean woman to climb Aconcagua (6962m), the highest peak in South America and one of the 7 Summits that Khoo has climbed. Together, they have a son and daughter, Khoo Sheng Feng and Khoo Sheng En, age 12 and 9 respectively.

Mount Everest summits of Khoo Swee Chiow (Swee-Chiow Khoo)

• May 25, 1998
• May 23, 2006
• May 21, 2011