Ant Williams Journeys To The Arctic To Become the Deepest Man Under Ice
Announcement posted by Digivizer 20 Feb 2019
Melbourne man begins bid to break the world depth record under ice, while holding his breath
Melbourne, Australia: Today, Ant Williams, a Psychologist and freediver,
announced his intention to break the World Record for the deepest ever
freedive (breath-hold dive) under ice.
In March, Ant and his support crew will travel to Northern Norway, within
the Arctic Circle, to a frozen fjord to cut a hole in the metre thick ice. Ant will
then dive down to reach the world record depth under ice in a discipline
called constant weight.
Of this ambitious challenge, Ant Williams said, “My ICE DIVER world
record attempt is the culmination of a personal and professional journey.
Years ago, I chose what I perceived to be an extreme sport for myself –
freediving – to see if I could overcome fear, anxiety, and my own nerves.
With this project, my team of 8 are undertaking something at the outer edge
of an extreme sport. On average the temperature will be minus 20 degrees
centigrade each day. We have real risk from exposure to harsh weather
and dangers that are new to the crew members – multiple snowmobiles
riding across frozen lakes, chainsaws cutting deep holes in the ice, and all
of this in remote wilderness locations.
The objective of the adventure is to answer one question – how deep can a
person dive underneath the ice? An additional goal with the ICE DIVER
project is learning how to reduce risk on a challenging project. My
aspiration is to translate what I learn into my leadership development work
to help others balance their own risk – in business and life."
Throughout March, Ant Williams and his team will hit the following
milestones in the lead up to his world record attempt in the final week of
March:
● Ant will ease into his record attempt by first travelling to New Zealand
to undertake deep water training in the cold waters of Lake Taupo.
● After New Zealand, Ant and his support crew will travel to Lake
Päijänne in Finland to continue his deep water preparation in frigid
waters.
● In the final week of March, Ant Williams and team head up to
Kirkenes, Northern Norway, within the Arctic Circle. They will travel
10 km each day on snowmobiles to a frozen fjord and spend the first
day cutting holes in the ice. Each subsequent day will be spent on
Ant’s world record attempt to become the deepest man under ice.
The current record is – 65m, Ant is going for – 80m.
About Ant Williams: Ant is a Business Psychologist who has held senior
leadership roles in management consulting firms and now specialises in
Leadership Development and executive education with his firm, Modus
Leadership. Ant Williams first trained as a Sport Psychologist, then became
a world-ranking athlete in his own right when he successfully dived -100m
(330ft) straight down on a single breath of air in a World Cup competition.
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