Egyptian scuba diver crowned world record holder for deep sea plunge

Egyptian diver Ahmed Gabr emerged from the Red Sea at 12:13 am on Friday morning to find himself crowned the new Guinness World Record holder for deep salt water scuba diving.

At roughly 10:30 am on Thursday morning, Gabr plunged off the coast of Dahab, ultimately achieving a depth of 332.35 meters after a rapid 12-minute descent. He resurfaced 824 minutes, or almost 14 hours, later.

Until Friday, South African diver Nuno Gomes held the world record for his 318.25 meter descent in 2005.

Gabr, who began his diving career at age 18, has been training for this historical feat for the past two years with the Dahab-based H20 Divers center. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1994 and served in the Special Forces before winning a scholarship to attend the United States Army Combat Diver program.

After coming back up from his record-shattering plummet, Gabr climbed aboard his boat amid choppy waves and stood to salute the waiting crowd before he was attended to by medical personnel and his support team. Gabr’s son was the first to greet him on the boat, jumping into his father’s arms as Guinness World Records official adjudicator Tallal Omar boarded the vessel to congratulate the diver. Omar handed Gabr his official certificate in front of his support team, friends and family.

Leo Morales, the Guinness World Record holder for deep diving with a disability, and Omar Samra, the first Egyptian to climb the seven summits and soon to be the first Egyptian in space, were also in attendance.

"This day was not about the world record," Morales said. "This day was about heart, passion, feeling ... and this day was about human beings."

Recounting a conversation with Omar, Morales continued, "He told me, after the revolution Egypt needs heroes. And that's what Ahmed just did, he became a hero."