Torquay diver’s ice swim captured in Apple documentary

A TORQUAY freediver’s world record-breaking swim under ice has been documented in immersive vision by Apple.

Ant Williams is the focal point of an episode of Apple’s new Adventure Immersive Video series titled Ice Dive.

Apple Immersive Video uses 3D video recorded in 8K with a 180-degree field of view and spatial audio to transport viewers to the centre of the action.

Ice Dive follows Williams’ attempt to break the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) world record for the longest distance swum under ice on a single breath.

 

The 52-year-old said he can generally hold his breath for just over eight minutes at his peak and can dive 100m deep on a single breath of air.

He can swim 240m in a regular swimming pool on one breath.

In March 2024 in Icelandic waters measuring 0.2 degrees Celsius, Williams achieved the distance goal, swimming 182m under the ice on a single breath.

He said it was the toughest challenge he’s faced in his 20 years of competitive diving.

“Is it possible? None of us really knew the answer. I said to the production guys that the chances of me succeeding were three to five per cent.

 

“I was in disbelief when I completed it. The conditions were just brutal. Too cold for ice diving. The air temperature on record day was -12.

“I was confident, but it was such an unknown.”

Mr Williams said usually he would allocate four months toward training to break a world record, however for this attempt, he only had seven weeks.

“I had no intention to go for this particular world record, it just came down to an opportunity that came up with Apple. It was too good to turn it down.

“They said from the date I found out that they wanted to be filming and doing it in Iceland in the middle of a harsh winter.

“To train from a standing start was hectic. It was here in Torquay; it was the middle of summer, and it was warm. Far from ideal, but I enjoyed the challenge.”

 

Williams was shown the course roughly four weeks before the world record breaking dive and given the opportunity to complete a few practice dives.

He then went back in March, and made his attempt on the tenth day of filming.

“There was a lot of pressure to perform.

“There was a crew of 60 to 70 staff there filming, doing safety or from Apple. They were on the ice for a month. We stayed in the township of Reykjavík and travelled out to a nearby frozen lake each day.

“I had to switch into winter mode, acclimatise from the Southern Hemisphere and get into it.

“As it is so cold, when I get into the water there is no time to ease into things. I have just one minute in the ice water before I must start the swim. Taking any longer would risk getting cold and hindering my performance.”

 

He said the physical side of freediving was a key element, but mental toughness was more important.

“Freediving is 90 per cent mental. It’s so uncomfortable, there’s so much fear involved. The cold, a very long breath held under ice, it’s all a head game.

“The dive was so nerve-racking. Some days I’d wake up preparing like I was on top of the world, and the next I’d wake up in terror. Then the next would be something different.

“But it’s why I do it. It’s all about getting your head around something that at first glance looks insane.”

Ice Dive is 15 minutes in length and is exclusive to Apple Vision Pro.