Witsies break new records in the water
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Alumni make a splash in women’s cave diving and Robben Island swim.
Wits has a proud history of swimming depth, and in the past few weeks two alumni broke significant records in the water.
Karen van den Oever (BSc 2006, BSc Hons 2008) broke the women’s deep cave diving record at Bushmansgat Cave on 26 March 2021 at 236 metres. This hole is believed to be the third-deepest submerged freshwater cave in the world and her dive lasted seven hours and 18 minutes. Dr Niels Otto Thaning (MBBCh 1966) set a record by becoming the oldest person to swim from Robben Island to Bloubergstrand. He crossed the 7.9 km across Table Bay in two hours and 52 minutes. 
Van den Oever said in a radio interview she started diving in 2001 while on holiday in the Eastern Cape. She joined the Wits Underwater Club while studying towards her degree. At Wits she met Verna van Schaik (BSc 1991, BSc Hons, nee du Preez), who held the Guinness Woman’s World Record for the deepest dive at 221 metres, as well as Nuno Gomes (MSc Eng 1992), who is the holder of two world records. “They inspired me to move into technical diving and to, one day, attempt and achieve a record myself,” she said.
Boesmansgat Cave, also known as Bushman’s Hole, is in the Northern Cape with a notorious reputation. In 1994, while helping a team prepare for a dive, Deon Dreyer died on ascent at a depth of 50 metres. His body remained in the cave until being discovered 10 years later at a depth of 270 metres by David Shaw. In 2005 David Shaw died trying to recover Dreyer’s body.
Van den Oever had a team of 15 support divers helping her along the way and was tangled in the line at a point during the dive. She admitted to having felt nervous and anxious before. “I questioned myself about ‘why am I doing this, it is absolutely crazy’.” As soon as she got into the water all of that faded. “You are truly present only in that moment with complete focus on the task at hand.”
She said: “I’m going to take a break from the deep technical stuff because it’s so physically and emotionally challenging. Maybe later this year I’ll look at my next steps.”
Dr Thaning, a heart surgeon accustomed to swimming in cold water and breaking records, turned 80 in March. In 1992, along with environmental activist Lewis Pugh, he was the first to swim across Lake Malawi. In 2014 he was the oldest person to cross the English Channel – a record that still stands.
He completed his most recent historic swim on 4 April 2021, braving the 16?C water. He told Biz News in an interview: “I don’t count the numbers and I don’t count the years. I try and keep my physical status as good as possible. I do a lot of physical training – mainly swimming… I think I have been genetically lucky. I’m a non-smoker, I’m not overweight, I don’t drink alcohol because I get sick from it. I believe in exercise and because of my profession, I also look at, very carefully, the things that are relevant to cardiac health.”
Dr Thaning went into surgery soon after his general medical training at Wits and trained under Dr Christiaan Barnard. He is still actively working as a cardiac surgeon. “I’ve cut down a bit now. I’m doing more assisting than direct surgery, but I’m still very active.” Listen to full interview here.