Wigginton dives 7 miles below earth’s surface near Guam

On June 26, Jim Wigginton of Van Buren Township dove in the submersible “Limiting Factor” to the deepest part of the earth — the Challenger Deep section of the Marianas Trench about 240 miles southwest of Guam.
He set two new World Records in the process: The only person to have skydived from 7 miles up as well as dove, in a submersible, 7 miles down.
He is also the oldest to have reached the bottom of Challenger Deep and the 13th person in history to have completed this dive.
Wigginton performs extreme challenges for the Punya Thyroid Cancer Endowment Fund at the University of Michigan, for the advancement of research and treatment to substantially increase the life expectancy and quality of life of stage 4 thyroid cancer patients, in memory of his wife.
Since 2013, the doctors being helped by this fund have been able to increase the life expectancy from an average of about 2 1/2 years, to over 3 1/2 years, while at the same time, substantially proving their quality of life, he said.
Contributions can be made to the Punya Thyroid Cancer Endowment Fund at the University of Michigan.