American Breath Hold Diving Milestone Broken--First American To Freedive Down To 300 Feet On One Breath

Online, August 22, 2012 (Newswire.com) - US Freediver Robert King set a new United States Freediving Record, becoming the first American to freedive to a depth of 300 feet (92 meters) and back on a single breath of air (no air tanks, rebreathers, weighted sleds or motorized propulsion). His performance took place during the 2012 Red Sea Cup, at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, on 20 August.

Rob set the record in the discipline of Constant Weight (CWT), in which the diver swims down and back with fins (or a monofin, which looks like a whale's tail), carrying the same weight back to the surface as he swam down with.

Rob's dive took two minutes and twenty-six seconds, to the depth equivalent of a thirty-story building. To help put Freediving into perspective: Imagine yourself swimming the length of a football field and back in under three minutes, without taking a single breath. Then consider swimming downward. Rob is a seventeen-time United States freediving record holder, and is also a freediving and SCUBA instructor, business lawyer, and avid surfer; he holds advanced degrees in both law and finance. Rob also serves as an Executive Board Member of the AIDA International (the international governing body for the sport of Freediving)

After his performance, Rob said: "I'd like to thank Andrea Zuccari for his help with equalization, and William Winram for training and coaching. I would also like to send best wishes to my niece, who had surgery two weeks ago to repair a broken bone in her hand, and has been a real trooper."

Robert will dive again in the Red Sea Cup later this week, and be a judge at the upcoming 2012 AIDA Freediving World Championships in Nice, France in September.