By Lauren Lynch
© Laureus

(Decemeber 8, 2010) Martina Navratilova conquered the cancer mountain and has started her ascent on Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. We last saw her scale a building in New York and now see is climbing to raise money for a charity, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

The Laureus Sport for Good foundation is close to her heart as it supports the betterment of children through sports based project. She is not climbing alone on the Rongai Route up the mountain. She is joined by 27 others which include Michael Teuber, German Paralympic cyclist, and Gail Emms, fellow racqueteer British Olympic badminton player. When she reaches the peak, she plans on hitting a few tennis balls out into the open air. After winning 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam doubles titles, and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, she will conquer one mountain after the next for a good cause.

Check out her day 3 blog entry from December 8, 2010 on the Mawenzi Tarn to 4,330m:
Hi All,
Day one of the Mount Kilimanjaro fundraising challenge and the team are all in high spirits after a consistent but gentle first day of climbing. It feels great to be underway, and I am thrilled to be joined by a group of 27 fundraisers, including the British Olympic badminton star Gail Emms and German Paralympian cyclist Michael Teuber. We are all so impressed that Michael is with us. He is a really determined young man.
After an early breakfast this morning, we made our way to the Marangu National Park gate, where we registered for the expedition. The climb began at the village of Nale Moru, just south of the Kenya-Tanzania border. From there, the porters led us on a small path winding through fields of maize and potatoes, before entering a pine forest; it was here that we saw a variety of wildlife, including the Kilimanjaro Colobus monkey.
I was hoping for some great views as we walked, but to be honest the weather so far has not been what we hoped for. It’s been dull and damp and in the distance we have seen thunderstorms and lightning.
The walking today has been fairly easy, we’ve been introduced to ‘pole-pole’ which means ‘slowly, slowly’, to allow our bodies to acclimatise properly, so it has been a gentle day.
We have now all reached the campsite, where we will now refuel with lots of drinks and stock up on carbs before trying to get a good night of sleep and recharge our batteries ahead of the second leg of the challenge early tomorrow morning.
After so many months of planning and expectation I can’t tell you how exciting it is to be on the way at last.
Martina

Click here for day 1 and day 2 of Navratilova's blog. The climb is supposed to take seven days to climb and we will be posting her blogs on the way up.

Find out Martina's innitiative in supporting this charity:




If you are passionate about this cause and Martina's climb, you can donate and find out more about Laureus support of the world's youth.