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Man Celebrates 99th Birthday with Attempt to Become World's Oldest Scuba Diver

Bill Lambert, 99, of Rockford, Illinois, made a dive in Pearl Lake earlier this month.
By Andy Zunz | Updated On September 19, 2019
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Man Celebrates 99th Birthday with Attempt to Become World's Oldest Scuba Diver

world's oldest scuba diver

Bill Lambert, 99, of Rockford, Illinois

Courtesy Loves Park Scuba

If scuba diving is a young person's game, don’t tell Bill Lambert. The 99-year-old is too busy logging his dives.

Lambert made a dive in South Beloit, Illinois’ Pearl Lake on Sept. 5 in an attempt to become the world’s oldest male scuba diver.

Lambert, who was born on Sept. 5, 1920, celebrated his 99th birthday with a 20-minute dive to 32 feet in the lake with local operator Loves Park Scuba.

“I feel good,” he told the Woodford Times.

But for Lambert, scuba diving is a new passion. He started his certification last fall and made a trip with Loves Park Scuba to Cozumel in February, where he completed his certification.

Lambert told the Woodford Times he stays fit by riding a stationary bike for a half-hour six days a week.

He submitted his application to Guinness World Records to officially become the world’s oldest male scuba diver, a record currently held by Wallace Raymond Woolley of Cyprus. Woolley made headlines recently by diving to 140 feet on the wreck of the Zenobia at the age of 96.

Now that is longevity.