Ant Williams Becomes The Deepest Man Under Ice After World Record Dive

Kirkenes, Norway: Today, Ant Williams, a Psychologist and freediver from Melbourne, Australia, broke the World Record for the deepest ever freedive (breath-hold dive) under ice.

Ant and his support crew camped on a frozen fjord in Northern Norway, within the Arctic Circle, and cut a hole in the metre-thick ice in preparation for the dive. After suiting up in a heated tent, Ant entered the frigid water and dove down to reach the world record depth of -70m under ice in a discipline called constant weight.

Of his world record dive, Ant Williams said, “I feel fantastic after achieving my radical goal with the ICE DIVER project. The world record did not fall easily though. When I exited my heated tent and entered the water through the hole my crew had cut into the ice, the cold was brutal. This combined with the darkness were far beyond anything I have experienced in my chosen sport of freediving. Despite this, I felt relaxed on the way down. After reaching the world record depth of -70m under ice, I endured a long, tough swim back up to the surface. My legs felt like lead and the swim seemed to take forever, so it was a relief to make it back and taste sweet, fresh air again!

“I owe the success today to the efforts of my amazing crew. These guys have worked for months to help me get ready for this dive. And a huge thank you to ASG Group for the fantastic support and Rab New Zealand for kitting out the crew in the best possible outdoor gear. Thanks to my family and my wonderful wife Merryn Williams. It's our 11th wedding anniversary today! And a special mention to Danny Hurst and James Cini my amazing training buddies back in Torquay, Australia who would both rather be here with us.

“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.”

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. With the success of his ICE DIVER project, he also holds the World Record for the deepest breath-hold dive of -70m (230ft) under ice.

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