Ant Williams Completes Two World Record Dives to Become the Deepest Man Under Ice

Kirkenes, Norway: On Friday, 29 March 2019, Ant Williams, a Psychologist and freediver from Melbourne, Australia, broke the World Record for the deepest ever freedive (breath-hold dive) under ice. Ant’s record-breaking dive came soon after his first record dive just over a day before on 27 March.

Once again, Ant and his ICE DIVER support crew travelled on snowmobiles to a frozen fjord in Northern Norway, within the Arctic Circle, set up camp and cut a hole in the metre-thick ice in preparation for the dive. After suiting up in his heated tent, Ant entered the frigid water and dived down to reach a new world record depth of -75m (-246ft) under ice in a discipline called constant weight.

Of his motivation behind a second world record attempt, Ant Williams shared, “The first world record attempt really tested me. It was a tough dive and left me apprehensive about trying to push the record any deeper. But after a day of rest and contemplation my confidence came back, and I felt strong to push for another attempt.

“On the day of the deeper dive, my team and I woke to sunny, calm conditions in the Arctic Circle. Once I was on the snowmobile heading to the dive site the nerves had passed and I was eager to begin the dive.

“After the ice was cut and I suited up, my dive down to -75m in the Arctic waters took 2 mins 40 secs. It felt like the best dive of the trip for me. I was relaxed, I didn’t get too cold, and my technique was better than on earlier dives when I was more tense.

“However, when I reached for the tag at the bottom plate, I couldn’t prise one free. I was wearing 7mm gloves with no finger dexterity and I had little visibility to see what I was doing – it was like diving into an oil slick. Almost pitch black.

“My swim back to the surface was easier than my previous dive and I felt like I still had more energy in me. But I also felt elated at pushing the record 10m deeper over the two dives.

“We now have to present all the evidence from both dives to Guinness to see if both record attempts will stand as new world records.

“I owe the success of these two dives to the efforts of my amazing crew. They have worked for months on the ICE DIVER project to help me get ready for these dives. And a huge thank you to ASG Group for their valued support and Rab New Zealand for kitting out all my crew in the best possible outdoor gear.”

Amidst the elation of a world record performance, there was a sombre note. Ant, who is originally from New Zealand, reflected on the tragedy of the events in Christchurch. “For our entire trip we have been haunted by news of the terror attack in Christchurch. The black arm band I wore out on the ice was to honour the innocent victims of this unthinkable act of violence.”

Now on his way home to Melbourne, Australia, Ant looks to share what he discovered diving to great depth beneath the ice. “The objective of this adventure was to answer one question – how deep can a person dive underneath the ice? An additional goal with the ICE DIVER project was learning how to successfully reduce risk on a challenging project. With the success of ICE DIVER, I can now translate what I’ve learnt into my leadership development work to help others balance their own risk – in business and life.”

for the deepest breath-hold dive of -75m (246ft) under ice.

###