Scuba diver Dan Metcalfe from Grantham secures three Guinness world records
A scuba diver has been told he now holds three Guinness World Records – and he has his eye on two more.
Dan Metcalfe from Grantham has set three fresh open water world records - the fastest one-mile scuba dive with a swimming band, the fastest one-mile dive, and the greatest distance scuba dive.
Despite knowing he had broken the records when he completed the challenge in autumn 2022, Dan has now been told by Guinness that they are official.
“Receiving that confirmation is amazing,” said Dan. “It feels like I was completing it all over again.
“It was really difficult to do and a lot of preparation had to be in place for it. If there was one thing wrong, they would say it couldn’t go through.”
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Guinness sifted through five-and-a-half hours of video footage to ensure the records were broken.
Dan added: “I didn’t think I would be this bothered, because I knew they were world records already, but ever since Guinness sent confirmation, it has felt great.”
Dan was paralysed from the waist down in a motorcycle accident in June 2014.
He was involved in a second crash in June 2018 while taking part in a 600-mile charity bike ride, and this left him with a neck injury.
Despite his accidents, Dan has been scuba diving for nearly six years and continues to raise money for charity.
His efforts don’t stop there as he has two more world records in his sights, but these require a lot more intense training.
The first is to beat the fastest 10k for scuba diving held by Faisal Jawad Hassan, who is also paralysed. Faisal completed this in five hours and 24 minutes.
Dan also wants to set the record for the deepest dive by a paralysed diver.
“This is extreme and it will take a couple of years to train for it,” said Dan.
When he set his first three world records, Dan raised £6,189, which was shared between the Magpas Air Ambulance, The Scuba Trust, and Stoney Cove Dive Centre in Leicestershire.
