Unpacking a popular wellness trend
The dangers involved in free diving are considerable, with pressure related issues the most worrying. Free divers expose themselves to barotrauma (caused by pressure change) of the eyes, ears, sinus and lungs, nitrogen narcosis, and decompression sickness. Another critical risk in free diving is hypoxia, which occurs when the body is deprived of oxygen. Blackouts can occur, leading to drowning.
The ancient Greeks proved themselves adept in water, and not just for gathering seafood. Sponge production was a thriving business and skilled free divers were needed to harvest this much sought-after commodity. Divers were secured to a slab of stone called a skandalopetra with a thin cord. The skandalopetra itself was attached to a boat with the same rope. This link allowed fishermen to dive safely for centuries.
Pearl hunting has a rich heritage. Practiced for over 2,000 years in waters as diverse as the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean, it's this discipline that is often regarded as the forerunner of modern free diving.
Some of the most skilled exponents of pearl hunting are the ama divers of Japan. Ama, or "sea women," are female divers famous for their ability to stay submerged for extended periods of time while foraging for the prized bounty. The practice is at least 2,000 years old.
Evidence of when humans began diving underwater comes from an unlikely source: the Chinchorro mummies. Archaeologists have confirmed that the Chinchorro culture in what is now northern Chile were accomplished free divers.
The free diving story returns to the eastern Mediterranean where in 1916 a Greek sponge diver called Stotti Georghios made a dive of considerable depth in unusual circumstances.
Ancient free diving had its military applications, too. During the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE) free divers were hired to salvage lost merchandise from shipwrecks and to scout for underwater barricades.
Similarly, haenyeo are female divers in the South Korean province of Jeju. Jeju's diving tradition dates back to 434 CE. Islanders, all women, harvest a variety of mollusks, seaweed, and other sea life from the ocean.
Several tribes in Maritime Southeast Asia maintain a tradition of free diving that goes back centuries. The Sama-Bajau of the islands of Tawi-Tawi are famous for their particular genetic adaptations useful for free diving. For example, evolution has allowed their bodies to release more red blood cells when diving. Red blood cells are the binders of oxygen, so this increase allows them to stay longer underwater.
The Moken ethnic group of the Thailand and Myanmar coastal regions are exceptional free divers. They also demonstrate an extraordinary ability to see underwater. Often called sea nomads or sea gypsies, the Moken are a traditional seafaring people totally at home in their waterworld.
Georghios was hired by the Italian navy to retrieve an anchor from the sunken battleship Regina Margherita, lying on the Adriatic seabed after striking a mine. Georghios plunged an astonishing 196 feet (60 m) without air to reach the vessel. He recovered the anchor, but the effort cost him dear, suffering as he did from significant lung and ear trauma during his ordeal.
The discipline advanced into the modern era as free diving equipment and ancillary tools became more widely available. In 1927, Jacques O'Marchal invented the first free diving mask designed to enclose the nose.
In 1933 another Frenchman, Louis de Corlieu, patented his "swimming propellers," the first prototype of free diving fins.
Another major contribution to free diving, and to watersports in general, was that made by American physicist Hugh Bradner, who, in 1951, invented the neoprene wetsuit, which helped revolutionize scuba diving and surfing.
The year 1949 is generally regarded as the year free diving became a profession. The first officially recorded free diving prize was presented that year to Italian Raimondo Bucher, who dived 38 ft (30 m) to the bottom of the sea near Naples.
French free diver Jacques Mayol (pictured playing with dolphins) and Italian Enzo Maiorca were two other names who emerged in the 1960s to become free diving legends, with both securing world records in the sport.
Italian Umberto Pelizzari is widely considered among the best free divers of all time. While active, he established world records in all the then-existing disciplines of the sport. Now retired, Pelizzari remains an inspiration to everyone considering taking up the sport.
Natalia Molchanova was a Russian champion free diver and multiple world record who is also cited as one of the best the sport has ever produced. She's pictured holding a minus 86 meters (282 ft) tag that gave her a win in the first women's free-diving world championship held in September 2005 in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. On August 2, 2015, Molchanova vanished in Formentera, Spain, while giving a private lesson. Three days later, still missing, she was declared dead.
Natalia Molchanova's son, Alexey Molchanov, has honored his mother's name by also becoming a multiple world champion free diver. He's seen here concentrating before attempting a 426 ft (130 m) plunge during the 2019 AIDA Depth World Freediving Championship in France.
English-born New Zealander William Trubridge was the first diver to go deeper than 330 ft (100 m) without oxygen, a feat he accomplished in 2010.
Nitsch is no stranger to the risks associated with free diving. In 2005, he was pulled out of the water after fainting at a depth of 351 ft (107 m) during the men's individual free diving world championships in France.
Austrian free diver Herbert Nitsch has held world records in all of the eight free diving disciplines recognized by AIDA International. The current free diving world champion, Nitsch is known as the "deepest man in the world" after his astonishing dive in June 2012 to 831 ft (253 m), suffering injury in the process.
There's also a perceived celebrity element attached to the sport. In 1996, marine educator and ocean explorer Mehgan Heaney-Grier pioneered the sport of free diving in the United States by establishing the first US free dive record for both men and women, in the constant weight category. Heaney-Grier has worked in Hollywood as a stuntwoman and featured in numerous television shows and publications worldwide.
On June 18, 2024, French free diver and underwater artist Alice Modolo was chosen to symbolically raise the Olympic flame from the depths of the sea in the harbor of Villefranche-sur-Mer, the cradle of global free diving.
Pictured keeping her cool under ice is Finnish free diver Johanna Nordblad. On this occasion, the ice was about 17 in (45 cm) thick and the water temperature just above freezing. Nordblad holds the world record for a 164-ft (50-m) dive under ice, after finding the sport during recovery from a downhill biking accident that almost took her leg.
And free diving has been used to good effect in highlighting the scourge of plastic waste in the oceans. Here, Sahika Erumen from Turkey takes part in an awareness dive for the United Nations Development Program's "Defender of life in sea" initiative. She pauses her ascent clutching garbage found on the seabed.
A variation of the traditional sport of free diving is deep water soloing, a solo rock climb where cliffs rising from the sea are climbed with no equipment except for climbing shoes. While it's called soloing, on no account should a free diver enter the water alone, whatever discipline they're following.
Recreational free diving does afford some unforgettable encounters with wildlife, such as this individual dwarfed by a sperm whale, photographed taking a nap in the Indian Ocean.
Sources: (U.S. Freediving Federation) (AIDA International) (Olympics) (Freedive Academy Panglao) (Go Freediving)
See also: The most dangerous sports in the world
They know this because the mummies have exostosis deformations of the skull. Exostosis is the formation of new bone on the surface of existing bone. The ancient Chinchorian people were identified as having bone growth across the ear canal opening to protect the eardrums from exposure to water. This makes sense as shell midden and bone chemistry suggest that 90% of the people's diet was seafood.
US Navy diving instructor Bob Croft is credited as the first free diving record holder in the history of the sport. Croft, who was based at the Naval Submarine Base New London in Connecticut (pictured) in the 1960s, could hold his breath for over six minutes.
Would you attempt to dive to a depth of 831 ft (253 m) and resurface without the aid of oxygen? Well that's exactly what one man accomplished to be crowned free diving world champion!
Free 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. It's a fascinating but high-risk extreme sport that enjoys widespread popularity around the world. But why would anybody want to plunge to such depths in the first place? Well, actually, you'd be surprised!
Click through and learn more about how this unique discipline evolved, and meet some of the individuals responsible for its ascent into the mainstream.
How dangerous is free diving, and would you take the plunge?
How deep can you go?
LIFESTYLE Extreme sports
Would you attempt to dive to a depth of 831 ft (253 m) and resurface without the aid of oxygen? Well that's exactly what one man accomplished to be crowned free diving world champion!
Free 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. It's a fascinating but high-risk extreme sport that enjoys widespread popularity around the world. But why would anybody want to plunge to such depths in the first place? Well, actually, you'd be surprised!
Click through and learn more about how this unique discipline evolved, and meet some of the individuals responsible for its ascent into the mainstream.