Taiwanese athlete Tommy Chen made a name for himself by becoming the first Asian to complete the South Pole ultra-marathon race in 2010, but the achievement came at a high price, almost costing him his fingers and toes. Besides, due to the extremely dangerous nature of the sport he specializes in, Chen constantly found himself denied by local insurance companies.

This footage was taken when Tommy Chen attended the race held in South Pole.

It was snowy white in a blizzard.

Temperatures were extreme and fell to as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius.

One can become physically exhausted and even lose the sense of direction.

In fact, Chen was not protected by any insurance policy when attending the marathon in South Pole since none of local insurers were willing to cover him as the athlete was to run a 100-km marathon in the South Pole.

He also had to contend with injuries on several toes and frostbite on his face, at the risk of amputation.

So Chen can only buy insurance policy from foreign insurers.

With the insurance fee of 120,000 NTD, he would receive more than 100 million NTD in compensation if any accident happens.

However, local insurers were unable to accept the terms.

While Chen was trying to do his best to win honor for Taiwan, local insurance companies dare not to provide him the protection he deserves.