Enzo hits 80! (candles on the cake)

[spaghetti]

Tomorrow it's Enzo Maiorca's 80th birthday.
It's worth two days of celebration for the legend of our sport, an inspiration for all freedivers and, most of all, a very special great man. :friday


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am7qY6P1SMU]YouTube - ‪Album: Enzo Maiorca‬‏[/ame]

 

[watts]

Great clip of one of the forfathers. What a ledge.

 

[spaghetti]

Wow, 40 views and one comment. People get shy in the presence of a legend...:king

 

[nostres]

Buon compleanno, 100 di questi giorni!

 

[Don Paul]

Bravo Enzo:friday:fridayEven if the film BIG Blue cast some gray on your true self as a legend and individual. ( I know you would have rescued the trapped diver in the ship without any compensation). The bright side was that here in the US the general public was able for the first time see the beautiful cliffs of the Med and the heroes that dove deep into her clear waters. You will always be numero
uno in my book.
Viva Enzo...

 

[nostres]

Spago it seems like You know him personally, did You meet him?

 

[spaghetti]

Spago it seems like You know him personally, did you meet him?

Who me? No, I don't have the honor to be his friend, unfortunately.
I saw him at a Convention once, and I wanted to get closer and shake his hand, but it was too crowded and I got too emotional seeing the hero of my childhood.

When I was a kid, here in Italy Maiorca was a celebrity like, say, Michael Jordan or Joe Montana or Larry Bird for you Americans. In the early 70's his record attempts were broadcast live on TV, and there was only one nationwide channel at that time: every Italian HAD TO watch him dive, or turn off the tv.

I have a memory of a 7 years old myself "freediving" along the beachline to pick crabs, and my dad cheering me "Bravo, you dive like Maiorca, my son".
That made me so proud! And, of course, I hated Mayol with all my heart...:t

The rest of the world knows Maiorca through his records story, or from the infamous movie (where Enzo is protrayed very different than he really is). For us he is Freediving, tout court. Pelizzari is a celebrity too, and highly respected, and that's well deserved, as it is for Genoni. But only Enzo is a legend. At least for my generation.

 

[podge]

Happy Birthday Mr Maiorca, truly a legend of our sport and sort of a father to us all.
Carry on Sir :king:king

 

[yaffle]

Congrats my friend!

 

[dimitris33]

I sent an email last year to Enzo asking to meet him just for few minutes to shake his hand and talk to him for a while but I never received any response. I was planning a trip to Sardegna and Siracusa to find him but still cannot find info about his home or it might be risk for such trip to knock his door and notice that he might be abroad...

Enzo is the only living legent and I hereby propose the administrators if they can organize a trip to Siracusa for freedivers over the world who want to meet Enzo to honour him for his contribution to the sport. I think this might be a very pleasant surprise for him at his 80's to see how many people around the world is thinking of him!

Happy birthday our friend!

 

[ReefTroll]

Happy birthday Enzo!!!

 

[watts]

It would be good if AIDA would do a hall of fame thing so people could be recognised for their efforts in the sport. Does anyone?
The real Enzo looks a whole lot fitter and better than the movie version.

 

[CEngelbrecht]

I remember a Hall of Fame thing was suggested some years back in AIDA. One detail was to coin the title 'Apneist' or 'Apneiste' (women). Like 'Apneist Enzo Maiorca' or 'Apneist Jacques Mayol', 'Apneiste Angela Bandini', that kind of thing. But to my knowledge, nothing further came of it.

 

[trux]

Happy Birthday to Enzo! It would be great to hear he still dives time to time!

Enzo is the only living legent

I think Bob Croft belongs to the legends too. He is still often participates on freediving events as a guest. He is also rather active on Facebook, and sometime comments diverse freediving posts.

In the proposal for the WC 2011 in Bahamas (that was not selected by the Assembly), Will claimed he arranged with Enzo that he'd come as a special guest. From the WC presentation:

2011 will be the 50th anniversary of the first freedive to 50 meters: a historic moment when Enzo Maiorca ignored the numerous warnings from expert doctors and descended to a depth at which he had been told his lungs would be crushed by the pressure.


We are working together with Maiorca to publish an English version of his updated biography, and if the World Championships are hosted in the Bahamas we will invite him as guest of honor, to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies, give comment on the competition days, and award the athletes with their medals.

I hope very much that the Italian organizer of the WC in Lignano Sabbiadoro takes over Will's initiative, and that Enzo will be a special guest there instead!

 

[Siku]

Any news on the translation of his biography?

 

[Fitz-Clarke]

Happy Birthday Enzo. I had the pleasure of meeting him six years ago at the conference in Pisa. He was looking very healthy and robust. Nothing to suggest any long term effects from diving. I would strongly encourage translation of his book. Same goes for Croft if there are any authors out there. We need to preserve the history of our legends.