Jamaican-born climber reaches summit of Mount Everest for second time

Jamaican-born mountaineer Rohan Freeman has once again reached the summit of Mount Everest, becoming the first Jamaican to scale the world’s highest mountain.

Freeman completed the climb at approximately 6:45 a.m. on May 23, marking the second time he has summited Everest after first accomplishing the feat in 2009.

The achievement drew praise from Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who highlighted Freeman’s groundbreaking accomplishments in a social media post.

“Jamaican, Rohan Freeman made it to the top of the world, literally!” Holness wrote, noting that Freeman was the first Jamaican to reach Everest’s summit and also the first Jamaican and African-American to complete the Seven Summits — the highest mountains on each of the seven continents.

Freeman also shared images and video clips from the summit on social media, including photos of himself holding the Jamaican flag atop the mountain.

“Summited Mount Everest on May 23 at approximately 6:45 AM!” Freeman wrote. “More to come when I get some much needed rest and food.”

He dedicated the climb to his wife, Emilia Freeman, praising her determination and resilience.

Born in Jamaica, Freeman later immigrated to the United States to attend the University of Connecticut, where he studied civil engineering and developed an interest in athletics and mountain climbing.

Despite living with asthma, Freeman began tackling major peaks in the early 2000s. He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2002, followed by Denali — formerly known as Mount McKinley — in 2005.

In 2006, he scaled both Mount Elbrus and Aconcagua before reaching Everest for the first time in 2009. He later completed Vinson Massif in 2011 and Carstensz Pyramid in 2012, officially completing the Seven Summits challenge.

Alongside his mountaineering achievements, Freeman built a successful engineering career. He is a licensed professional engineer and land surveyor and founded Freeman Companies, a Connecticut-based engineering firm, in 2009.