An 96-Years-Old Veteran Overcomes His Age
Ray Woolley has proved more than once that human capabilities are endless. He set a world record and was officially recognized as the oldest diver in the world on his birthday. At that time he was 94 years old. For the record, he needed to reach a mark of 12 meters, but Ray decided not to trifle. In 2017, he plunged to the 38.1 meter mark and spent 41 minutes under water.
Inspired by his achievement, he made a promise to set a new record, surpassing himself, next year. And he fulfilled this promise. The next meeting with the Zenobia ferry wreck occurred in 2018 at a depth of 40.5 meters and lasted 45 minutes when Ray was already 95 years old.
An elderly diver was accompanied by 200 divers from various diving schools in Cyprus and other countries. They witnessed a truly unique event, which seemed like a miracle.
An incredible athlete said that it was first time he dived with so many allies. During the dive, Ray greeted them with gestures from under the rubble of Zenobia, and, of course, repeatedly thanked them for their support.
Woolley said he loved underwater sports for 58 years. He traveled almost the whole world, but there were no such ideal conditions for the development of diving as in Cyprus.
The record holder believes that if he stayed in the UK, he would never have been able to achieve such successes. He has long recognized Cyprus as his home and lives happily in Limassol. Ray leads a healthy lifestyle and has never had bad habits.
The diver celebrated his anniversary and a new record on his return to land. He cut a cake made in the shape of the Zenobia ferry and again promised not to stop there.
He kept his promise this time. The British WWII veteran again surpassed himself. In 2019, on Saturday, August 31, Ray Woolley again went to the place where the Swedish Zenobia cargo ferry sank in June 1980. That day he celebrated his 96th birthday. The diver spent 48 minutes under water and dipped to 42.4 meters. Thus, his own record was beaten again. For three consecutive years, the world has recognized Ray as the oldest diver.
This time, 47 like-minded people accompanied him. Woolley shared his plans, saying that he was not going to quit diving in the near future. He hopes that his health won’t fail, and next year he will be able to make a new dive record. Veteran and great-grandfather plans to do diving up to 100 years. Even the documentary film “Life begins at 90” was shot about his legendary dives.
This is a terrific example of how age doesn’t affect your lifestyle in any way. Everything is always in your hands and you can overcome any circumstances, even such difficult ones.
Stay fit, guys!
