British woman smashes freediving records and makes history several times over!

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Letitia Reeves
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1 British woman smashes freediving records and makes history several times over! New Free Immersion women s record deeper than men s record First woman to break the 60 metre mark First woman to hold all three deep discipline records! 11th June 2007: - Sara Campbell, a relative new-comer to freediving, has set some impressive new British Women s records this week, culminating with a Constant Weight (CWT descending and ascending using a monofin) dive to 65 metres, smashing the previous record of 54 metres by 11 metres. In record attempts held over four days in the Blue Hole, Dahab, Egypt, as well as her CWT record, she also recorded a 62-metre dive in Free Immersion (FIM descending and ascending a submerged line by pulling with the arms only), which puts an additional 12 metres on the former FIM record of 50 metres, and exceeds the current men s record by two metres. Sara said: It has been a dream week. Everything I have attempted I have achieved. My dives still feel very comfortable and there is definitely more to come. After a rest I ll start training for qualification for the World Championships. Based on official AIDA world rankings (which reflect competition performances only, and not record attempt events) if Sara were to achieve these results in competition she would be ranked seventh in the world in Constant Weight, third in the world in Free Immersion and is joint eighth in the world based on her 30 metre competition dive in Constant Weight No Fins. Day one, Wednesday 6 th June she announced a safe 58 metres in both disciplines to secure the records, which she achieved. These records made her the first woman in British freediving to hold all three deep disciplines concurrently (she set the Constant Weight No Fins record of 30 metres on 3 rd April this year).

2 Lotta Ericson, organiser, judge and Sara s coach in Dahab, said: I have been competing and judging for many years now, and I don t think I have ever seen anyone set two national records on the same day. With this performance, I think Sara has the potential to be considered among the world s top divers before the year s out. In an sent to Sara on hearing about her results, Mark Harris, press officer for the British Freediving Association, said: Well done Sara - we are seriously impressed! Quite a debut - we are wondering what more is to come... Day two, Thursday 7 th June, Sara attempted to push her Free Immersion record of the previous day to 62 metres, which was again successful. With this dive, Sara becomes the first British woman to officially break the 60 metre mark in any freediving discipline. Day three, Friday 8 th June, Sara matched her Free Immersion record with a successful 62 metre dive in Constant Weight. Sara commented: The dive felt comfortable, I had plenty of air, but my legs were tired on the ascent and I m looking forward to some good sleep and rest before our final day on Sunday. Day four, Sunday 10 th June, Sara attempted an ambitious 65 metres in Constant Weight. Having formerly achieved a personal best of 62 metres, an attempt at 65 metres was taking her into uncharted territory. The dive was successful, setting a new record for British women s freediving. All records have been verified by the judges, Lotta Ericson (B judge) and Linda Paganelli (E judge), who run Freedive Dahab, and have also organised this event. Lotta said: Sara has been diving amazingly well this week, and we re really proud of her achievements if a little worried that she ll be overtaking us in the not too distant future! After some rest, Sara now plans to focus on Constant Weight and Constant Weight No Fins, which are the two disciplines necessary for the Individual World Championships in Sharm later this year.

3 She will be taking part in the British Championships in Chepstow on 28 th and 29 th July, her first time diving in cold dark waters, and prior to that, hopefully making her qualifying dives at the City of Peace Championships in more temperate Red Sea waters in Sharm on 20 th and 21 st July. If all goes to plan, she will be representing the UK in Sharm at the Worlds in October and November, all the time pushing the British women s records even deeper. Sara is looking for companies to sponsor her training and participation at this year s World Championships in Sharm el Sheikh. For more information, or to contact her, please visit or call Also taking part in the record attempts in Dahab this week were Dave Mullins of New Zealand, who, set an incredible national record of 100 metres in Constant Weight, putting him within the top five freedivers in the world. Patrick Schnorf, of Switzerland has also broken his own former records, with an impressive 70 metres in both Constant Weight and Free Immersion. Overview of the week. Sara Campbell, UK Constant Weight Free Immersion Former records 54 metres Hannah Stacey 50 metres Livvy Philips Wed 6 th June 58 metres Dive time : metres Dive time : 2.27 Thu 7 th June No attempt 62 metres Dive time : 2.31 Fri 8 th June 62 metres No attempt Dive time : 2.17 Sun 10 th June 65 metres Dive time : 2.29 No attempt

4 Dave Mullins, New Zealand Former records Wed 6 th June Fri 8 th June Sun 10 th June Constant Weight 82 metres Ant Williams 90 metres Dive time : metres Dive time : metres Dive time : 3.43 Patrick Schnorf, Switzerland Constant Weight Free Immersion Former records 65 metres Patrick Schnorf 65 metres Patrick Schnorf Wed 6 th June 70 metres No attempt Dive time : 2.20 Thu 7 th June No attempt 66 metres Dive time : 3.04 Fri 8 th June No attempt 70 metres Dive time : 3.17

5 Notes to editors About freediving As with any extreme sport, there are dangers connected to freediving. However, with training, and education, and ensuring you always train with a partner or coach, it is fun, challenging and extremely rewarding. The numbers of freedivers visiting the Blue Hole for diving holidays and courses have rocketed in the past two years it is a growth sport that attracts women as much as men, as it is as much about beauty, grace and nature, as it is about strength, power and fitness. Freediving dates back at least 4500 years to the pearl hunters and fishermen of the South Pacific. More recently, its popularity can be traced to the film The Big Blue, a fantasy documentary about the 'fathers of freediving', Enzo Majorca and Jacques Mayol, and in the present day, Tanya Streeter's recent BBC series on freediving with whales and dolphins. Part of the fascination of the sport is that humans train their body to become more like fish. We all carry a natural 'dive reflex' which traces our origins as humans back to the oceans millions of years ago. With training, this reflex response can be increased, slowing the heart and constricting the peripheral blood vessels, ensuring oxygen-rich blood is directed to the essential organs of the brain and heart and away from other 'non-essential' organs. The Disciplines Deep Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) current record holder Sara Campbell, 30 metres In this discipline I have to swim breast-stroke style vertically downwards, until I reach the tag and then swim back up, all without touching the line. This discipline is particularly challenging as so much depends on strength and technique. From around metres, the lungs become so compressed, that the body becomes heavier than water and begins to sink. Falling for the second half of the dive enables me to conserve energy and oxygen, but means that the swim back to surface is much harder. Constant Weight (CWT) current record holder Hannah Stacey, 54 metres In this discipline I wear a monofin (see the picture page 1), which I use to swim vertically down and up again in dolphin style. I am not allowed to touch the rope except for to retrieve the tag as in other deep disciplines. The fin enables me to swim much more efficiently, hence depths in this discipline are greater than in CNF. The main challenge here is equalising my ears at depth and pressure on my lungs. After 30 metres my lungs are so compressed that I have to learn other techniques to equalise to prevent my eardrums from bursting. Free Immersion (FIM) current record holder Liv Phillips, 50 metres This is the only discipline in which I am allowed to hold on to the rope. I use my upper body strength to pull myself down the rope, until I become heavy enough to begin falling. I must retrieve the tag from the bottom and then pull myself back up to the surface. Depths are comparable to those in Constant Weight because of the efficiency of the technique. The challenge again is equalisation and dealing with the increasing pressure on the body, in particular the lungs and chest. About Sara Campbell Prior to moving to Dahab, Egypt, two years ago, Sara, 35, used to live in London, where she worked as a yoga teacher and ran a PR consultancy. She discovered freediving last year and took to it, literally, like a fish to water. After only two months of fairly intensive training, she was reaching depths of 40 metres, swimming with a fin. Unfortunately she contracted Hepatitis A in August and has been out of the water for over seven months. She returned to training in March with no intentions of setting any records! As well as freediving, Sara continues to teach yoga and runs PR campaigns for a major UK charity. She lives with her three dogs and three cats in the Bedouin village of Dahab, famous for the Blue Hole, a 90 metre vertical rift in the coral table, which provides perfect conditions for freediving. Her coaches are Linda Paganelli and Lotta Ericson, two of the top women freedivers in the world. They run Freedive Dahab, a freediving training school.

6 About the BFA ( Freediving is the sport of breath-hold diving in which the freediver descends under water on a single breath of air. Freediving includes leisure activities such as spearfishing and snorkelling as well as competitive disciplines: Constant Weight, Free Immersion, Variable Weight, No Limits, Dynamic and Static Apnea. Freediving has many benefits and can be compared to a martial art. It promotes increased lung capacity, deeper levels of awareness and perception and control over your body. The British Freediving Association (BFA) is the UK governing body of the international freediving organisation AIDA. We promote recreational and competitive freediving, ratify freediving records, and sponsor events for our members. The BFA also supports a growing network of affiliated freediving clubs throughout the UK. About Freedive Dahab ( Freedive Dahab was set up by international freedivers, and national record holders in their respective countries of Sweden and Italy, Lotta Ericson and Linda Paganelli. The aim of Freedive Dahab is to provide safe and responsible education, training and coaching for freedivers of all levels, as well as organising competitive events and record attempts for international athletes to gain experience and official rankings with the international freediving organisation, AIDA ( Linda and Lotta continue to compete actively as well as assisting other athletes to develop and improve their freediving skills in safety. Dahab is one of the top freediving locations in the world, with year-round warm waters (between degrees), excellent visibility, and sheltered, calm, protected, deep areas, such as the Blue Hole.

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