If you’re looking for something new to dive into this
summer, Kristine Fonacier suggests trying something that
doesn’t require any gear
INTO
THE BLUE
Y
ou might think that
freedivers are all crazy-
eyed daredevils. Doesn’t
it take a special kind of
adventurer to penetrate
the shadowy depths of the sea
without oxygen tanks, to hold one’s
breath for minutes at a time, many
meters beneath the waves and far
from air?
You might think that, but you’d
be wrong. Talk to members of
the growing community of sport
freedivers in the Philippines and
you’ll find that they’re among
the most serene, soft-spoken and
steadiest athletes you’ll ever meet.
Though freediving is classified
as an extreme sport — it’s quite
dangerous, there’s no doubt about
that — it’s also a sport that requires
superhuman calm and incredible
inner discipline. It’s a sport that
is all about pushing limits, but
it’s also about the pursuit of pure
experience.
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