EGYPT: FREE DIVING - Austrian Herbert Nitsch breaks two world records in free diving at Makadi Bay, in the Red Sea

Austrian Herbert Nitsch broke two world records last week (December 11 and 13) in free diving in the Red Sea in Egypt after competing in the world championships. In free diving the contestants compete in the sea and in the swimming pool to see who can hold their breath for the longest underwater in a variety of disciplines. This year's championships, which took place at Makadi Bay, just south of the main Red Sea resort of Hurghada in Egypt, and ended on December 12 with the women's Russian and Danish men's teams taking home gold medals. But after the official competition ended a number of divers stayed on to try and break world records, with only Austrian diver Nitsch managing the feat - twice over. Nitsch, who works as an airline pilot, managed to break standing times in both the static apnea (which means holding of the breath in the swimming pool) and in the constant weight (in which the diver descends in the sea using only fins and their own body weight to propel them down). This year was the first time that the championships have been held in Egypt, despite the fact that Egypt's Red Sea with its rich coral reefs is considered one of the best locations for snorkeling and diving in the world. It was also the first time that the championships have been broadcast live, with underwater cameras beaming pictures directly to satellite television. Nitsch broke one of his records during the competition itself, descending into the clear turquoise waters of the Red Sea on a solitary breath, and swimming down to 111 meters to shatter the constant weight record of 109 meters. The dive took three minutes and thirty seconds. After the competition, several divers including Nitsch stayed on for another shot at glory. With safety divers standing and a nervous crowd looking on, several divers tried but failed to get into the record books. Canadian William Winram, a doctor by day, went for the world record of 81 meters in the constant ballast event, in which divers must descend as far as possible with no diving fins. Winram suffered problems equalizing at about 70 meters and had to turn back. For Nitsch, the sea was not as generous as it been earlier in the week, with his attempt to break the record in Free Immersion failing narrowly. In Free Immersion the diver has to pull themselves down by a rope as far as possible on one breath and then pull themselves back up. Nitsch did break the 106 meter record by one meter, but when he came back up it took him 17 seconds to take off his mask and tell the judges he was okay - two second more than the rules allow. "When I'm cold I start to shiver, the muscles take oxygen and this was, I was missing the oxygen on the end of the dive, so it was very close on the surface. This is why I came over the surface protocol time. I have to say that I'm okay within fifteen seconds after coming up," said Nitsch. Two days later, however, Nitsch tried his luck in the swimming pool and made his mark once again. This time the Austrian broke the record in the static apnea, laying submerged in a swimming pool, completely still, for an astonishing 9 minutes and four seconds, beating the previous record of 9 minutes. Nitsch's victories were a fitting end to more than two weeks of intense, and even at times death-defying, competition. For the divers who came from 29 countries to compete against the backdrop of the breathtaking mountains on Egypt's Red Sea Coast, it was a memorable and record-breaking occasion.

ITN Source | December 18, 2006

Tags:. .failing. .failed. .themselves. .earlier. .pilot