Jamaican breaks freediving world record

David Lee

by Zakia Feracho

Thursday, July 8, 2004

Sometimes you may ask yourself, "Why would anyone put themselves in danger?" This is a question that is asked frequently in the sport of freediving - where the dangers are not secret and often can not be measured.

This June, 28-year-old Jamaican David Lee broke the freediving world record, in what is considered to be an amazing performance at the start of a competitive season for the islander. Enthusiasts of the aquatic sport are saying that this record is likely to remain unbeaten for quite some time, as the relatively new category chosen for the exploits is widely recognized as the hardest and most demanding of all.

Freediving is quite probably the world's most spectacular sport. This amazing activity where human beings descend to incredible depths while holding their breaths dates back to ancient times. That's why freediving is also called the "Original Extreme Sport."

It was born way before there were bicycles, skates, surf boards, parachutes or skis. As such, freediving enjoys the prestige and awe inspiring mystique that amazes thrill-seekers and scientists alike. Indeed, those divers who can descend to such depths rely on unique adaptations of their bodies which enable them to survive the crushing pressures found at depth, in exactly the same way that dolphins and whales do it. It could be said that top class freedivers are not only extremely gifted athletes, but also some sort of evolutionary mutants -- a different species on their own.

When an individual descends below the surface without the assistance of any breathing apparatus, only by taking a single breath of the God-given air that we all breathe, this is called freediving. Some people freedive to spear fish, others for photography, and some for the pure peace and tranquility that is experienced when you are truly free underwater. Others freedive to set world depth freediving records.

These are the elite freedivers whose bodies have adapted to the depth and their training is specifically for this purpose. These mutated athletes are constantly pushing themselves to explore the full aquatic potential of the human body.

The unassisted constant ballast - the category under which David broke the record - was officially introduced by FREE (Freediving Regulations and Education Entity) in 1998. The concept of "unassisted" as its name implies, means that the diver cannot resort to any aid whatsoever - no fins, no pulling on the line, no balloons to ascend, and even the weight used as ballast for the descent must be kept for the return trip. The unassisted freediver is, indeed, a swimmer that dives using a sophisticated and stylized version of the breast-stroke technique, more commonly known as "frog kicking."

Lee, who presently lives in the United States and practices for competition in a local YMCA pool, is considered by many as the master of this category. In September 2003, David failed at his last record attempt and surrendered his record first to Finnish diver Topi Lintukangas and then to Swedish Stig Severinsen. With Lintukangas becoming the first diver to surpass the seemingly impossible barrier of 60 meters (197 feet) and Severinsen pushing to add just one more meter to reach 61, it looked as if those results were safe for a while, specially after Lee's failed attempt to retake the title.

Not one to be counted out however, Lee started on a rigorous training routine that lasted five months, after which he felt ready and "aching to see whether I had it in me or not" as he described his pre-record state.

Sure enough, he secured the title with a dive to 63 meters (207 feet) in a time of 2:05 minutes, and then five days later, on June 10, when he drove the mark two meters deeper, reaching 65 meters (213 feet) in a time of 2:14 minutes. "That's the height of a 22-story building with nothing but my bare hands and feet," said Lee.

"I felt in that special zone where any performance is possible, and actually I realized that I could have reached 70 or maybe even 75 meters this time around, but I wanted to play it safe and secure this record, which after all, had already cost me dearly before." Lee continued, "But today, everything went well and I actually felt grateful for all those long hours of training, as they really made the difference. Now after a brief rest, I will start training again and will go for the record once again in a few months, and if by then my rivals have managed to take it away from me, all the better, I will be more motivated."

The records were certified by FREE judges who were positioned at the surface and bottom respectively, where they verified the diver's compliance with all pertinent rules and protocols. The location chosen for the events was the town of Kas, on the Turkish Mediterranean coast, in the Antalya province.

David grew up in a water-sports environment in Kingston, Jamaica. He learned to swim before he could walk and did his first scuba dive at age four. David's mother Jan Lee has owned Lady G'Diver, one of the most reputable dive shops in the Caribbean since the late 1970s. Growing up in this environment, he could not help but become a water baby.

At age seventeen, he graduated from Titchfield High School in Port Antonio, Jamaica, where he then worked for two years as a dive master at Lady G'Diver. David then moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma to pursue a college degree in information systems. At the age of 21, growing absolutely tired of scuba diving he decided to try freediving because of its purity and simplicity.

Only being able to freedive during the summer holidays he was unable to improve his skills and had to seek professional training. Lee met Rudi Castineyra, the world's most renowned freediving trainer, and Yasemin Dalkilic (the female Turkish freediving world record holder) in November of 2000.

Lee started training under Rudi's supervision to set his first world record. In the space of four months, Rudi had developed David's natural talent to set the first of three official unassisted constant ballast world records to 147 feet (45 meters) without the use of fins or any propulsion device.

David continues to train with Rudi with sights on setting future records. David, who continues to reside in Tulsa, works full time as a systems manager for Rich-Mar Corporation.

Freediving is not David's only passion as he also enjoys surfing, windsurfing, martial arts, rock climbing, mountain biking and snowboarding. After setting the unassisted constant ballast world record, David said, "You can achieve anything if you want it bad enough."

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