Still The Best

Big congratulations to Sam Still for his new UK static apnea record of 8 minutes 19 seconds. Truly phenomenal. This has brought about a new air of respectability for British freediving, and I'm sure we will be seeing more great achievements from Sam.

At the same event in Renens, Switzerland last week, we also had new records set for the UK Women's Dynamic Apnea and Static Apnea, by Hannah Stacey and Anne-Marie Kitchen-Wheeler, respectively. Hannah set a new distance of 119 metres, and Anne-Marie a new time of 5 minutes 18 seconds.

It will be a great honour to meet up tommorrow and dive with our new record holders, at the Individual Constant Weight World Championships in Nice.

Let there be water

Hood modification no good. It's been about a month now since my last assault on my ears, using 50 metre's worth of quarry water. I managed to burst one ear drum, and force debris over the surface of the other. Doesn't make for crisp hearing. Still, my injuries paled into insignificance compared to the Elf's. At the same NDC training session, she managed to internally rupture her left calf muscle in five places. We've both made good recoveries, so this weekend there's only one thing for it - go back and do it all again.

Statics are looking good again - a dry PB last Sunday with 7:17, and a wet one last night of 6:24. The fact that the UK record stands at 6:14 makes things a bit frustrating for me, but I think over the next few days we'll be seeing a quantum leap in that value.

That's one of the 2 things I can't comment on right now, the other being the creation of hydro forma. More to come on both...