Freediving
There was a little piece in the Life section of The Guardian on Thursday about Tanya Streeter, who broke the world freediving record this week. I’ve had a passing interest in freediving since watching the Luc Besson film, ‘The Big Blue’, so I was curious to read more about Tanya. It seems that she has a slightly freaky physiology, which makes her ideally suited to freediving. Simon Donoghueâa physiologist at Oxford Universityâmeasured her blood oxygen level while she held her breath for five and a half minutes (five and a half minutes!), and watched the levels plummet:
“The [blood] oxygen levels she gets down to are something I’ve only seen in people who have had a cardiac arrest,” he says. While most people have a blood oxygen level of about 98% and anything below 80% is considered dangerous, after five-and-a-half minutes without breathing Streeter’s went much lower. The machine’s measuring range goes down to 50%, which is itself “not really compatible with human life,” Donoghue says. “Tanya went down off the scale.”
To which I can only say…blimey. I hope she carries some kind of SOS tag explaining this. If she was actually in an accident and they were monitoring her blood oxygen levels, they might prematurely decide that she was dead.
1
Isn't freediving an accident in it self? It's like playing with some kind of safety equip. like a parachute. I just read that a practilcal joke resulted in a 20 yrs male parachutist plummet into the ground beacuse he didn't see the "prank" on 5000m before he jumped. The parachute didn't open and he went into the ground. The "chute" was to open 20 sec. before he hit the ground... What was he thinking during those looong 20 sec?
Don't get me wrong, skydiving is the most thrilling things I have done and I don't have a problem with it but freediving... I'm so, so scared of drowning that when I dive it looks like when you throw a stone onto of the waves and it bounces of the water. It's unbelievable, it looks like when Jesus walked on the water but the similarities end there, no beard, short hear etc.----- No arguments from me there: diving of any sort is a pretty dangerous thing to do, but freediving is probably even worse (though I'm not sure that nitrogen narcosis is such a problem, but I could be wrong).
I've never learnt to dive, but I love to swim underwater. I've swum ever since I can remember, and most of that has been underwater! I love the silence and the other-worldliness. I'd like to learn to dive, but I worry that all the paraphanalia of scuba diving might detract from the peace and solitude.
by bsag @ 27/07/2003 5:07 pm • Permalink •
2
i started to train to hold my breath for underwater photography about three years ago, i at that point could hold my breath statically out of water for about a miniute and a half, this is portraied as about 30 seconds under water swimming.
Since learning the techniques of freediving the level of training behind the physical and mental processess are to the point an art. There are exact sciences involved in which normal people who read articles like this one do not understand. i can now with these techniques dive down to 25 meters and comfortably stay there for a few miniutes.
Freediving to the levels Tanya does is pushing the levels of this sport to the extreme. she can do it so let her.
What if we said that footballers can't go into the premier leauge? Or sorry Mr Schumacher sir i will have to limit your speed as you are too good and are pushing the limits of this sport? or Sorry Mr weight lifter you might injure yourself if you lift that?
if people want to do it let them if they get injured or Die then it is there love and beleif in the sport that had got them there.
Regards
Steve
by Steve @ 11/08/2003 2:08 pm • Permalink •
3
Steve: I don't think that either JoRo or I were arguing that freediving should be stopped--far from it! I'm certainly in awe of those who do it, since I'm too much of a coward to do it myself. I'm all for people being allowed to do whatever they want to do (however dangerous), as long as they know what they are getting in to, and it isn't harming bystanders. I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression from my entry.
by bsag @ 11/08/2003 6:08 pm • Permalink •
4
Hi...I'm a 13 year old girl and I have never had any professonal lessons but I have read books and I love to freedive!!! I think it's really fun and relaxing. I know when I have reached my limits and when to go back up so it'll all be okay so all you guys shouldn't worry about everyone so much...they know what they can and can't do. Thought you just might want to hear my opinion... Sincerely, Blissy
by Blissy @ 30/03/2004 5:04 am • Permalink •
Page 1 of 1 pages