Cover photo of Support Saddam Killany - Longest dive in history Facebook page
CAIRO – 22 September 2017: Saddam Killany is a young Egyptian man aiming to perform the "longest dive in human history," not only through hoping, but through hard work and willpower.
Saddam Killany and his team underwater - Longest dive in history Facebook page
Whether it is a dive to a deeper length or for a longer time, diving as a type of extreme sport is quite challenging and takes years of training and preparing both physically and mentally. It also requires the help of professionals to supervise the process and ensure the safety of the diver.
Saddam Killany is a 28-year-old Egyptian diving instructor attempting to achieve what no other human has: spending 154 hours (6 days and 10 hours) scuba diving to break the Guinness World Record’s longest open saltwater SCUBA dive. The current record is held by Turkish diver Cem Karabay, who broke the record in July 2016 by staying underwater for 142 hours and 42 minutes (5 days and 22 hours).
Saddam sleeping - Longest dive in history Facebook page
Killany is currently performing his trial dive but not on his own, as everything has been calculated and measured, assuring that the diver’s safety is the main priority. The dive’s official
- a team of specialized underwater medics,
- a team of nutrition specialists, and
- a team of professional divers.
These teams help and assist the diver through supplying him with air cylinders, food and drinks. They also protect him from any harmful sea creature or injuries he might suffer during exercise.
There’s also a specialized team that make scientific observations about the diver’s physical state and the symptoms he experiences along time. These observations are of great importance in analyzing Killany’s body and how it adapts physiologically to an environment whose gravity and temperature are considerably different than those at surface.
The dive is being carried at a depth of 10 meters (33 feet), where Saddam performs a number of activities he has been training to do underwater for eight months now: eating, drinking, physical and mental exercising, and sleeping. These activities help stimulate the blood circulation and improve the physical and mental state of the diver without exerting too much effort that might lead to endangering his life and, therefore, ending the dive.
However, Killany is not the first Egyptian to attempt breaking a diving record, as he was preceded by divers Walaa Hafez and Ahmed Gaber. Hafez broke the world record for the longest open saltwater scuba dive in 2015 by staying underwater for 51 hours and 20 minutes at a depth of nearly 10 meters (33 feet). He performed the dive at Hurghada during the International Red Sea Festival for diving and swimming.
Before that, in 2014, diver Ahmed Gaber was the spark of inspiration behind all these Egyptian attempts. Gaber was the first Egyptian to break a world record in diving when he broke
. Gaber is an officer of the Egyptian military’s special forces and has been a diving instructor for 17 years prior to his attempt. He devoted the last four years of that period specifically to train for the dive. Attempts to break Gaber’s record have failed, the last of which has unfortunately resulted in the
It took Gaber 12 minutes to reach the depth of 332.35 m (1,090 ft 4.5 in) and 15 hours to re-surface safely, avoiding the various risks of pressure changes underwater, according to Guinness World Records it. During a magazine interview, Gaber
that he did the dive as an exploration for the abilities of his body but only after thoroughly testing himself and finding mental and physical harmony.
Killany is currently on his trial dive (120 hours long), which he started on Monday the 18th and is still going. On the 36th hour, he celebrated his birthday underwater with his team. On Thursday, he broke his own Middle East record of 76 hours underwater, and he is still going, followed by the support and love of his
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