Looking at the list of announced performances, it is interesting to see which long time veteran competitors have not progressed from their announced performances over the last few years. The british team for example, saw hardly any change from last year. Where are you, Alun?
Jean-Michel Pradon is going only 4 metres deeper than he went in 2000 in Nice. The German women as well and Swiss.
And for once, a REAL rivalry in both men's AND women's events:
WOMEN
Natalia Molchanova 86m
(does she not remind you of Herbert "the flying fish" Nitsch who in Ibiza almost broke the static record after doing 86m in constant and 89m in training?) She is so exciting and has obviously figured out how to train right from the start. Or else she has a history of elite training and had that extra jump start. Anyone know her background?
Mandy-Rae Cruickshank 80m
I knew she would announce 80m. It's a nice round number. From her training reports it sounds like she's reached 80m+ or been very close. Her asset here will be experience, but with the Natalia threatening, the pressure will be on! Good luck, Mandy!
With all these women so close the battle for third will be tough. And if Mandy or Natalia have bitten off more than they can chew, these women may battle for the top three spots:
Lotta Ericson 65m - she didn't have a great indoor worlds, so she may be looking to get this one in the bag.
Malara Mattia 64m - an Italian!
Megumi Matsumoto 60m - Showed her potential in Worlds 2004 with an easy dive.
Annanda Escudero Gomes 60m - Trains in Canada with Mandy-Rae in Vancouver. Going for a new Brazilian record!
MEN
Herbert Nitsch 107m
Equalizing at depth always appeared to be iffy for Herbert without his pipe mask. But now he can use it. The question is whether the 107m is for the intimidation factor or whether we'll soon see Herbert regain status as the top dog in constant weight. If so, it's nice to see him back in the game!
Carlos Coste 105m
I fully expect Carlos to make this dive. Given that Herbert has something to prove and that he's never beaten Carlos and Martin in recent memory, Carlos could end up on top.
Guillame Nery 103m
He is at home. So either the pressure will be too much or he'll have a great time. Nice to see him back, too, as the veteran "young gun" - now that Alexey Molchanov has been minted the New Young Gun.
Martin Stepanek 100m
Is he having a bad week?
Perhaps he is content to let his challengers wear themselves out trying to break his record. If they do, that means he has a new record to break in the PFI record-breaking machine.
For all of these guys equalizing will be the difference. We've seen them turn early. Martin's 98m in Cyprus because he was cold and couldn't equalize as well as usual. Herbert turning very early in the 80s... There is little room for error even if you have wide eustachian tubes!
Who will be the next 100m contender?
Timo Jattu - 90m (getting closer!)
Timo Kinnunen - 86m (not bad for a guy who says he has little time to train)
Peter Pedersen - 85m (surely has 100m in him, but his limited ocean training may be an indication of the shallower depth than expected. Could equalizing be an issue?)
Johan Dahlstrom - 84m
Ryuzo Shinomiya - 83m
Alexey Molchanov - 82m
Juraj Karpis - 82m
Kaz Ichikawa - 80m
Here's a list of divers who I think would surely be in it if they were all competing:
-Sebastien Murat (okay, we all know why)
-Eric Fattah (was 12m away in 2001, and is now twice the freediver he was then)
-Umberto Pelizzarri (98m is good enough for me)
-Tom Sietas (if he actually spent some time in the ocean!)
Anyone else?
Exciting, exciting! Wish I was there!