Tom Sietas in Apnea Stunt

[shoutatthesky]

Tom has sold his soul to the oxygen devil. He set a new Guinness record of 15:02 having breathed O2 for 20 minutes prior to the dive. I don't like to see these sort of stunts performed but at least it got freediving mentioned on the news.

Diver bests own breath-holding record | Lifestyle | Living | Reuters

[trux]

That's nothing too new. Tom does O2 stunts for TV shows and Guinness records since years and pretty regularly (http://apnea.cz/sietas+o2). I think it is better when it is done by someone who knows what he does (and does it safely), than when they almost die at it (like David Blaine, or the Lithuanian siblings) because they have no idea where their real limits are. I have nothing against it if it is done in the way Tom does it, and have also nothing against gaining some money and sponsor contracts in this way.

[SanderP]

Originally Posted by trux

I think it is better when it is done by someone who knows what he does (and does it safely), than when they almost die at it (like David Blaine, or the Lithuanian siblings) because they have no idea where they real limits are.

Why do you think Blaine almost died during his apnea stunt?
And is it possible to die during static while breathing 02 prior to the hold?

[trux]

Originally Posted by SanderP

Why do you think Blaine almost died during his apnea stunt?
And is it possible to die during static while breathing 02 prior to the hold?

1) Not really - he had an excellent safety team (Kirk Krack, Martin Stepanek, Mandy-Rae Cruickshank), but he was in bad troubles and I believe Eric Fattah was correct when he told O2 poisoning was likely involved in it.
2) By breathing O2 you face quite a different range of problems than at plain apnea - just search through the forum - this topic was discussed frequently, so you'll find quite detailed answers there

[trux]

I've just added the video of today's Tom record to the Media base, so you can see it now at the top of the listing at APNEA.cz - Apnea and Freediving Media Base
The interview with Tom starts at the end of the stream (around 17 min from the beginning).

EDIT: I just finished viewing the stream - in fact there is only the interview with Tom immediately before he started the stunt, but not the record itself on the video. Maybe they'll add it later though, so you can look at the link again later too.

[Ol Dirty Diver]

Here's the link from the Regis & Kelly Show website.

I sort of dismissed it too when I saw the regulator...But it's interesting to get to observe Seitas' preparation method. He does a curiously long hyperventilation phase.

[shoutatthesky]

Thank ol dirty, but it just comes up with the message "cannot view from you current location"
Trux's link worked fine and I just caught the last 20 secs or so on the morning news here so there is a big hole in the middle of the story for me.

I can appreciate that Tom needs to make money and get a profile I just think it would be so much better if he left the oxygen out of the equation. But if that is what it takes to get on TV then well thats fine. However if he calls what he is doing freediving.

[penguinator]

Heh I actually got a few text messages from some of my friends, saying "Hey you know that freedive thing that you do? Well someone just broke the record!"

And I was like.... totally

[Billextreme]

FYI

Static Apnea with pure oxygen,
16'04", Peter Colat from Switzerland, 070210 in St. Gallen, SUI

link: HERE!

/B

[ChristianRedl]

hello,
which one is in the guinness-book?
greetings
chris

[trux]

Tom's record was done with Guinness supervision. Peter Colat's not, but it does not make it less valuable of course. There are rumors about several O2 apneas of 20+ minutes (i.e. Pelizzari), and the physiological limit is probably more than that. Also Tom did 15:02 already last year during a French TV show, but it was probably not confirmed by Guinness. The information about it was even pulled off of Tom's website.

From the interviews, the record videos, and the facts available, it is pretty clear that Tom could very easily pull a much longer O2 breath-hold, but he simply uses the TV shows and Guinness presence in a clever way as an excellent money making machine - by incrementing the record only in small steps, he can assure that he can repeat this stunt again and again on diverse TV channels worldwide for several years (he already did shows minimally in Germany, Italy, France, and the USA).

Those accusing him of greed or violation of freediving ethics (or whatever else), should realize he always clearly tells he breathes oxygen and in no way tries to pretend it is plain breath-hold. It is absolutely clear that if it won't be Tom who does the oxygen records, someone else will do them, so personally I think it is much better when they are done by someone like Tom who deserves the popularity and the money, than by some clown that just makes a big theater around it with a giant glass ball, and pretends the record being done on plain air. And if you think it is too easy, and that longer O2 apneas can be done and were done (which is absolutely true, though not under Guinness supervision), just feel free to contact Guinness and propose yourself for the next attempt.

And BTW, the hyperventilation you could see, unlike at normal apnea, is quite needed at O2 breath-holds - with blowing out as much CO2 as you can, you decrease the risk of CO2 poisoning that is probably the biggest risk at O2 breath-holds.

[xsaul]

Thanks so much guys. I wanted to ask him if he got oxygen narcosis. But can't get ahold of him myself. He drags me through all THIS for FAME??? LOL!!! I am using him (with his permission, his suggestion) as a character in my Freedive Novel.
WaterRat
xsaul@kdsi.net

[trux]

Narcosis at oxygen and other gases used in diving does not normally happen near surface, but rather under pressure at depth. The narcotic effect at oxygen occurs relatively deep so it is not a frequent problem. It is rather the toxicity of oxygen that may get involved in relatively small depths when breathing pure oxygen, but at static apnea it is also does not pose any significant risk. CO2 poisoning is a much more serious danger for a O2 breath-holder - the toxic effect of high metabolic CO2 may indeed act far before hypoxia reaches an important level.

Not sure if Tom does it for fame, but I doubt it. I think he is more pragmatic and uses his skills and opportunity to gain some money. If he was after fame, he would probably rather hunt freediving records more persistently - from what I've heard, he has the capacity to seriously improve records in all pool disciplines, but rarely does so.

[xsaul]

I have returned to this thread. I can't make money (or at least not much) due to the law and my disabled status, a situation which my Protag would face also. I like to see how far I can go just for experimentation purposes.
Fawn, my Protag, is very talented, but I suspect she cannot compete in any high level Comp with her epilepsy. Am I right? I've been told not to consider Comp for this same reason. The ocean and seizures don't mix. Even Temporal Lobe, which doesn't involve unconsciousness (my case) wouldn't be a good match with Comp.
Pool Comp? I don't know...need info on THIS. Anybody???
WaterRat
xsaul@kdsi.net <One of Fawn's story conflicts is: "Do I be completely honest on the medical forms?" I'm assuming there are forms, and exams. Her epilepsy is well-controlled on meds>

[trux]

Well, this is quite another topic. Seizures and epilepsy were frequently discussed on DB, so I'd suggest posting your question to one of those threads where it will be on topic. For example this one: http://forums.deeperblue.net/safety/...-seizures.html. There are also many other threads - just enter "seizure" or "epilep" (partial expression only to match different words of the same root) - you will get many discussion with possibly some valuable information. However, personally I'd probably advise against competing or pushing the envelope in apnea under the influence of any drugs.