|
89
There are three pool disciplines in freediving today:
• static apnea — a timed breath-hold underwater with no
swimming
• dynamic apnea — the distance a diver covers swimming
on one breath
• dynamic apnea no fins — the distance a diver covers
swimming without fins on one breath
Then there are the depth disciplines, three of which are
self-powered:
• free immersion — pulling oneself down a line and back
up without fins
• constant weight/constant ballast — using a fin to kick down
and back up without dropping weight or using a line
• constant weight no fins — kicking down and back up
without using a line or fins and without dropping weight
There are two assisted categories:
• variable ballast — using weights and, usually, a sled to
descend and then leaving the weights at the bottom and
using a line and/or kicking to ascend
• no limits — using any means to get down and back up;
usually involves a weighted sled to get down and a lift bag
or pulley to get back up
Now for the big numbers. The following are the current world
records in all disciplines from the Association Internationale
pour le Développement de l’Apnée (AIDA), the worldwide
federation for breath-hold diving.
• static apnea: men, 11:35; women, 9:02
• dynamic apnea: men, 922 feet (281m); women, 768 feet (234m)
• dynamic apnea no fins: men, 715 feet (218m); women,
597 feet (182m)
• free immersion: men, 397 feet (121m); women, 289 feet (88m)
• constant weight: men, 413 feet (126m); women, 331 feet
(101m)
• constant weight no fins: men, 331 feet (101m); women,
223 feet (68m)
• variable: men, 466 feet (142m); women, 417 feet (127m)
• no limits: men, 702 feet (214m); women, 525 feet (160m)
Safety
Those numbers are why many people think freediving is
absolutely crazy. But there has been only one death ever
during a record attempt.
Most freediving fatalities occur in recreational freediving.
They’re usually the result of people thinking they aren’t
pushing themselves and are playing it safe. Because of that,
they think they can dive without the direct supervision of a
buddy. But such supervision is critical for every freedive.
During AIDA-approved record attempts and competitions,
athletes must follow the organization’s safety guidelines to the
letter, or the judges will not allow the attempt/competition to
proceed.
PFI held its annual Déjà Blue competition Oct. 5-11, 2013;
as usual three different safety systems were in place during
the depth part of the competition. Even in the pool safety
freedivers were there to spot/follow every athlete along with
an evacuation boat and medics on site.
The competition employed the following three systems:
Safety freedivers:
These people are probably the most
important part of the safety system. They time the athlete’s
dive and meet him or her at about a quarter of the total
depth on the way back to the surface. These people secure
the diver’s airway if he should lose consciousness underwater.
They can bring a diver to the surface in a matter of seconds
and have him conscious and alert shortly after that.
Counterbalance system:
This is a retrieval system. All divers
wear a 3-foot-long (1-meter-long) lanyard (for constant-weight
it is usually secured around the wrist); on the other a carabiner
is clipped to the competition line. At the bottom of that line is
approximately 25 pounds of weight; at the other end is about three
times that amount. If the diver does not come up in the expected
period of time the system is released, and the heavy weights sink,
pulling the lighter end — and the diver — to the surface.
Scuba divers:
Not every competition or record attempt uses
scuba divers, but PFI still does for the added safety as well as
the help with video. These divers keep an eye on the freediver
all the way down and back. They have a lift bag they can
attach to the diver (or the line) to bring him to the surface
faster. (They also usually cheer for the freedivers after they
touch the bottom plate at depth, which I always appreciated.)
It may surprise some people to learn that I’ve had 14
blackouts in training, but thanks to these safety protocols each
was a learning experience and nothing more.
When I first started freediving I thought that world records
were set by freaks of nature — people who were just different
from the rest of us. After 13 years in the sport and after having
achieved seven world and 13 national records, I can tell you
it’s not that way at all. Records are set by ordinary people who
dream big and who find the drive and desire to train harder than
everyone else. They let themselves achieve the unimaginable.
Mandy-Rae Krack is a seven-time world-record-holding
freediver. She and her husband, Kirk, teach freediving through
their company, Performance Freediving International.
AD
See the Film
Ocean Men: Extreme Dive is now available on Blu-ray. Shot in six countries on 70mm film, this award-winning IMAX documentary tells the
story of two passionate freedivers and their forays into the beautiful, dangerous and serene depths. To order, visit OceanMenBluRay.com.
