Ray Wooley is a 95-year old World War 2 veteran. But he is known these days for breaking the new diving record. The British army vet broke his own record earlier this week as the world’s oldest scuba diver at 95 years old. He took the dive to explore the Zenobia, a cargo ship wreck located off the Cypriot town of Larnaca in Cyprus.
Ray Woolley actually already holds the record for the oldest male scuba diver, but he decided to make a new mark while he was still able to dive. He dived for 44 minutes at a depth of 40 meters. He beat his previous record of 41 minutes at a depth of 38.1 meters, which he made when he was 94 years old last year. Woolley was one of the many divers that explored the shipwreck. It sank in 1980 in its maiden voyage.
“We did it! I feel great. It’s lovely to break my record again and I hope if I can keep fit I will break it again next year with all of you,” Woolley said after his dive. Woolley is originally from Port Sunlight in England, but now he lives in Cyprus. He said that he had already visited the shipwreck in 1982. Woolley was a radio operation in World War 2. He has been scuba diving for the past 58 years.
“I am trying to prove to myself, and I hope to other people, that exercise, especially when you are getting to around my age, is most important to do,” he added.