John Volanthen

John Volanthen is a world record-holding British cave diver who has been at the forefront of underground rescue and exploration over the last two decades. Volanthen began caving with the scouts at the age of 14 and continues to push the limits of underwater cave exploration to this day. In 2018. Volanthen is best known for his role in the Tham Luang Thailand , where he was the first diver to locate and contact the missing youth Thai soccer team alongside long time diving partner Rick Stanton. Described as the “A Team” of diving rescues by the British Cave Rescue Council, he also planned and participated in the children’s rescue. Volanthen has been involved in a number of search, rescue, and recovery incidents in the UK, Ireland, France and further afield.

Volanthen has been involved in exploring and mapping caves throughout the world, including the UK, Europe, and Malaysia. Volanthen’s success hinges on an innovative approach, designing equipment and procedures to solve the unique difficulties presented by each cave. In Wookey hole in the UK, alongside Rick Stanton, Volanthen advanced the British cave diving depth record to over 90M. As part of an International team, Volanthen set a world record for the longest cave diving distance from surface, well over 10km. Volanthen continues to explore and document underwater caves throughout the world.

Using his background in medical electronics, Volanthen has built and sold 2 Information technology businesses. He has also produced innovations to allow the exploration and mapping of ever deeper and more complex caves in a safe and controlled manner. These include an underwater mapping device, communications systems and state of the art, micro rebreathers, allowing divers to stay underwater longer than was previously possible.

Volanthen has been recognized by a number of organisations for his cave rescue work, including the Royal Human Society, Scout Association, and National Geographic as Adventurer of the Year. He was awarded the George Medal from the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. Living in Bristol, in the UK, Volanthen spends his ‘spare’ time running ultra marathons.