Corhonda “Hooda Brown” Dawson has set a new world record for the quickest worldwide scuba dive sequence, ending Black History Month on a high note by going deep.
She succeeded in only 11 days, 19 hours, and 23 minutes.
Dawson, a native of Whitehaven, Tennessee, began her record-setting quest on April 1, 2025, in Antarctica with a dive in Whalers Bay and finished April 13 with a dive near Catalina Island, California, completing the global circuit nearly six days faster than the previous record.
Guinness World Records confirmed that Dawson’s 11-day journey around the world met the criteria for the record, which requires dives on all seven continents within a single continuous attempt.
Dawson told Fox 13 Memphis that her goal was to inspire others by demonstrating that “what you dream is possible,” and that disciplined pursuit can lead to historic accomplishments.
Her dive sequence included locations in Antarctica, Rio, Portugal, Morocco, Dubai, Sydney, and Los Angeles. Each dive was certified by local dive officials and documented for Guinness adjudicators.
A resident of Memphis and frequent contributor to the local dive community, Dawson said she hopes her record will encourage wider participation in aquatic sports, particularly among groups historically underrepresented in diving.
Earlier in her career, Dawson became known for completing dives in each of the world’s oceans. In April 2024, she broke the Guinness Book of World records for being the first Black woman to dive in all five oceans in the world. Now, less than a year later, Dawson has entered history books for the second time.
Dawson was drawn to aquatics as a tool to help her push through a tumultuous divorce in 2010. She fell in love. Fifteen years later she is thriving.
She now shares her love and adventure with her daughters, who are beyond proud of their mother’s accomplishments. Both young women were present and took part in the Los Angeles dive that secured the world record.
“To have someone so close to me be a part of Black History and it be so recent in this month, it’s just so special to me,” Dawson’s youngest daughter, Nya Bolton, said.
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