Dynamic UK record

[Stuart]

Just seen that Alan Barber has broken the UK dynamic record:

Swimmers break record with a single breath (From Surrey Comet)

You can also see the video of his performance here

YouTube - NoTanx UK Dynamic Record

Nice one! Wonder who will be the first to break the 200m barrier in the UK?

[apneaboy]

Well done !!

[watts]

By the looks of that dive he will hit the 200 first. Great dive

[fcallagy]

well done alan and everyone involved. good video showing him keep a constant depth too.

[BennyB]

Originally Posted by watts

By the looks of that dive he will hit the 200 first. Great dive

Officially or unofficially?

Mark Harris and I judged this attempt. It was a superb effort from Alan considering that he had been sick quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. Nice and clean on the surface too.

There are a number of astounding facts about Alan. First - he hasn't been freediving that long - maybe 18 months? Second, he's crap at static, but can happily swim along for longer than he can hold his breath sitting still (boredom could be an issue here!). Thirdly, he sits in front of a computer 14 hours a day and trains an hour a week. Lastly, he still doesn't pack!! How many dynamic people are out there that can go well past 180m and not pack?

Well done Alan, and also well done to Debbie Millin for nailing the Ladies Dynamic No Fins South African record with a 78m dive. Great dive!

Cheers,
Ben

[Stuart]

Officially - of course! While its no mean feat to be hitting these numbers in training, it is another level to hit them in competition or as a record attempt. This is not to take away from Alan's amazing achievement, rather that the UK is right on the cusp of seeing the 200m mark being broken officially.

[AJRBARBER]

Hi guys,

Thanks very much for the very warm wishes - they are very much appreciated. Ady and I made the choice on Thursday night that we would only aim for 185m even though I had done 200m in training a couple of weeks earlier. As Stuart quite rightly points out, there is a VERY big difference between training and competition and to that end it should be remembered that Martin's 178m was done during the pressure of competition which is a lot more stressful than doing it in the comfort of your home pool with your own safety etc. Massive thanks to Ben and Mark for judging and to all the club members at NoTanx that make what I do possible.

Regards,

Alan

[billieball]

Congrats!!!

[Gwaihir]

omg what a long dive vs training and so on..
One thing worried me, It looked like he hyperwentilated a bit before the dive ? is this normal ?

[AltSaint]

Well done again, Alan. I have it on good authority that there will be a news item appearing on Deeper Blue quite soon...

Hyperventilation isn't a recommended freediving practise. Neither is buccal pumping ( packing ). If an athlete knows how to incorporporate practises that aren't recommended into their own physiology, and if it works for them with no ill-effect, then there is nothing to stop them from doing that.

In Alan's case he was exhaling forcefully, but not breathing rapidly, so whether it was 'hyperventilation' or not could be debated.

[Mullins]

Nice swim Alan!

AltSaint/Gwaihir, that was quite pronounced hyperventilation in my books - I tried the same style of breathing at the same rate and it took me well past where I would want to be at the start of a swim. But yes, it's pretty standard. Almost all freedivers hyperventilate.

Altsaint - Packing isn't recommended?? I can imagine it isn't recommended by AIDA courses that aren't competition focused, simply because it's an advanced technique. But it would come recommended by pretty much every competitive diver, in the pool disciplines especially.

[AltSaint]

Originally Posted by Mullins

Altsaint - Packing isn't recommended?? I can imagine it isn't recommended by AIDA courses that aren't competition focused, simply because it's an advanced technique.

That's pretty much what I meant Dave. I'm an AIDA instructor, and I don't recommend either of those techniques on basic courses. I guess I just assume that some people reading these forums might be at a basic level. If a novice freediver starts hyperventilating before some of their apnea adaptations have developed, then there is a greater risk of blackout.

Anyway, that's drifting off-topic....the main thing is that Alan did a stonking performance, and there is clearly more in the bank.

[littlefreediver]

Hey Alan

Awesome dive, well done! You must be so happy and proud - I'm definitely both of those for you :-)

Right, off to congratulate Molchanova now on her 95!

Hope to see you again soon,

Hugsx
Sara

[Haydn]

Inspiring. Just wish I was still able to be a part of it. But you guys just keep pushing the boundaries too far away. Maybe now my heart works properly, I should try another max effort and just see.......................

[AJRBARBER]

Thanks again to all the people who have passed on their congrats - they are very much appreciated.

For what it is worth - I DID get verbally chastised by my coach for EXCESSIVE use of "forced exhalations"! As per usual he (MIG) was right as the dive was very poor in comparison to previous weeks - the honest truth is that I was as nervous as hell and made a mistake - somewhat steep learning curve all this :-)

Regards,

Alan