 | This biography of a living person relies too much on references to primary sources .(September 2016) |
Simone Arrigoni (born in Rome, Italy, on 4 September 1973) is an Italian free-diver. He holds multiple free-diving world records. He is an ActionAid Ambassador and Honorary Member of the Centro Studi Cetacei, a non-profit Italian association that is concerned with the study and rescue of marine mammals and reptiles since 1986. [1]
Since 2008, Arrigoni has collaborated with biologists and students at Zoomarine Italia to carry on research projects on the study of free-diving and the comparative physiology of humans and dolphins. [2]
He opened two new specialties of dynamic apnea:
Arrigoni set many world records:
Since 2010 he has been developing his interest in photography – in which he looks for unusual perspectives, details, lights and symmetries. His photos and reportage have been published in print and online magazines, and received awards in international photo contests, such as the International Photography Awards. [5]
Arrigoni has self-published an autobiography: Seven Breaths. A Tale of Music, Freediving, World Records and Dolphins, Charleston, CreateSpace, 2017 (translated from the Italian Sette respiri. In apnea tra musica, record e delfini, Charleston, CreateSpace, 2016). [6]
Jacques Mayol was a French diver and the holder of many world records in free diving. The 1988 film The Big Blue, directed by Luc Besson, was inspired by his life story and that of his friend, Enzo Maiorca. Mayol was one of the screenwriters and authored the book Homo Delphinus: the Dolphin Within Man of his philosophy about the aquatic origins of humans.
Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving, is a mode of underwater diving that relies on breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba gear.
A monofin is a type of swimfin typically used in underwater sports such as finswimming, free-diving and underwater orienteering. It consists of a single or linked surfaces attached to both of the diver's feet, emulating the fluke of Cetaceans like whales or porpoises. Even though the diver's appearance might be reminiscent of a mermaid or merman, monofin swimming is not the same as mermaiding.
Finning techniques are the skills and methods used by swimmers and underwater divers to propel themselves through the water and to maneuver when wearing swimfins. There are several styles used for propulsion, some of which are more suited to particular swimfin configurations. There are also techniques for positional maneuvering, such as rotation on the spot, which may not involve significant locational change. Use of the most appropriate finning style for the circumstances can increase propulsive efficiency, reduce fatigue, improve precision of maneuvering and control of the diver's position in the water, and thereby increase the task effectiveness of the diver and reduce the impact on the environment. Propulsion through water requires much more work than through air due to higher density and viscosity. Diving equipment which is bulky usually increases drag, and reduction of drag can significantly reduce the effort of finning. This can be done to some extent by streamlining diving equipment, and by swimming along the axis of least drag, which requires correct diver trim. Efficient production of thrust also reduces the effort required, but there are also situations where efficiency must be traded off against practical necessity related to the environment or task in hand, such as the ability to maneuver effectively and resistance to damage of the equipment.
Tom Sietas is a German freediver. He specializes in the static apnea event, holding his breath under water, and the dynamic apnea event, swimming the greatest possible distance underwater without breathing. Sietas started free diving in the year 2000. Since then, he has set many world records and won many titles, including taking the world record from American extreme performer David Blaine about four and a half months after Blaine's much-publicised achievement in mid-2008. Sietas went on to add over five minutes to that record, which stood at 22:22 minutes when it was broken by Goran Čolak.
Freediving blackout, breath-hold blackout, or apnea blackout is a class of hypoxic blackout, a loss of consciousness caused by cerebral hypoxia towards the end of a breath-hold dive, when the swimmer does not necessarily experience an urgent need to breathe and has no other obvious medical condition that might have caused it. It can be provoked by hyperventilating just before a dive, or as a consequence of the pressure reduction on ascent, or a combination of these. Victims are often established practitioners of breath-hold diving, are fit, strong swimmers and have not experienced problems before. Blackout may also be referred to as a syncope or fainting.
Natalia Vadimovna Molchanova was a Russian champion freediver, multiple world record holder, and the former president of the Russian Free Dive Federation. Described as "possibly the world’s greatest freediver," Molchanova set an unparalleled standard in the sport. She believed, “Freediving is not only a sport, it is a way to understand who you are,” reflecting her deep connection to the sport. Throughout her career, she achieved 42 world records and earned 22 world championship medals, 19 of which were gold.
Association Internationale pour le Développement de l'Apnée (AIDA) is a worldwide rule- and record-keeping body for competitive breath holding events, also known as freediving. It sets standards for safety, comparability of Official World Record attempts and freedive education. AIDA International is the parent organization for national clubs of the same name. AIDA World Championships are periodically held.
Herbert Nitsch is an Austrian freediver, the current freediving world record champion, and "the deepest man on earth" having dived to a depth of 253.2 meters.
Martin Štěpánek is a world class freediver and record-holder.
Static apnea (STA) is a discipline in which a person holds their breath (apnea) underwater for as long as possible, and need not swim any distance. Static apnea is defined by the International Association for Development of Apnea and is distinguished from the Guinness World Record for breath holding underwater, which allows the use of oxygen in preparation. It requires that the respiratory tract be immersed, with the body either in the water or at the surface, and may be performed in a pool or open water. Static apnea is the only AIDA International discipline measuring duration, and one of the three disciplines considered for the international competitions by team, with constant weight and dynamic with fins.
William Trubridge is a New Zealand world champion and world record holding freediver.
Dynamic apnea is a discipline of competitive freediving, also known as competitive apnea. Dynamic apnea covers two of the eight competitive freediving categories recognised by the AIDA International : dynamic with fins (DYN) and dynamic without fins (DNF). Both disciplines require breath held dives where the diver travels in a horizontal position under water under their own power without aid/physical contact of a static surface, with the exception of the pool wall when done indoors. The records can only be recognized in pools of 25m or greater.
Underwater sports is a group of competitive sports using one or a combination of the following underwater diving techniques - breath-hold, snorkelling or scuba, usually including the use of equipment such as diving masks and fins. These sports are conducted in the natural environment at sites such as open water and sheltered or confined water such as lakes and in artificial aquatic environments such as swimming pools. Underwater sports include the following - aquathlon, finswimming, freediving, spearfishing, sport diving, underwater football, underwater hockey, underwater ice hockey, underwater orienteering, underwater photography, underwater rugby, underwater target shooting and underwater video.
Alexey Molchanov is a Russian champion freediver, multiple world champion, world record holder, and freediving promoter. He is also president of the "Freediving Federation" association, head of freediving school named in honor of Natalia Molchanova, and designer and engineer of the freediving equipment brand Molchanovs. Alexey is a son of Natalia Molchanova – multiple champion and world record holder in freediving.
Peppo Biscarini is an Italian-American swimmer, freediver, entrepreneur and evangelist. He represented both Italy and the United States in various international competitions and also won many titles. After retiring from his athletic career, he had a long stint as coach and entrepreneur. Later in life he responded to a higher calling and directed his life towards evangelism.
Nataliia Zharkova is a 2017 freediving champion of Europe and Ukraine. Zharkova holds multiple records in the discipline of freediving. She was also a freediving runner-up champion of the world in 2013. She is the first Ukrainian and the second woman to ever dive below the arch of the Blue Hole vertical underwater cave in Dahab, Egypt, on a single breath.
Alessia Zecchini is an Italian freediver who has set world and Italian records in freediving.
Estrella Navarro-Holm is a marine biologist, model, and national record-holding free diver from Mexico. She is the first Latin American woman to win a free diving medal for holding a single breath for more than six minutes.
Constant weight bi-fins, denoted by the acronym CWTB in competition notation, is a competitive freediving discipline wherein the freediver wears a pair of bi-fins to descend along the line with or without the use of their arms. Pulling on the rope or changing ballast will result in disqualification; only a single hold of the rope is allowed in order to turn and stop the descent and start the ascent. The diver is prohibited from using a dolphin kick; doing so will result in disqualification of the day's dive.
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