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Welcome to the not-so-secret freediving training diary of David Mellor
All of David’s training – his highs, his lows his personal bests, his travelling have all been leading to this event – The Aida Freediving World Championships! So how did David feel? How did he perform? Find out in day two of competing in his championship blog!
Day Two of Competing in the Aida Freediving World Championships
The sleepless night actually worked out ok for me. I was so tired the next day that I had to go to bed early that evening and I woke up feeling great for my second dive.
I announced 63 metres FIM – my PB was 65 metres, so I knew all I had to do was get my equalisation right and I’d be fine.
I had a 15 min walk from my airbnb to the Freediving World Championships village, so I listened to my audio book on the way to make sure my thoughts stayed positive. Things were starting to feel familiar now, I had a nice routine going on.
It started with which order I put all my kit into my bag. I’d leave all my dive kit together in the same spot in my room to make sure I didn’t forget anything. Once I got to the village I’d place everything in the same place while I got ready. I tried to do everything methodically so that I remained calm and relaxed. I didn’t want any last second panics about forgetting something!
Out on the platform everything was the same as the previous time. Same crowded busy platform, but I was fine with it. I felt confident again. I waited for the previous diver to clear the line and then hooked myself on with my lanyard.
For FIM, I like to breathe up on my back with a noodle under my neck, I can get nice and relaxed this way even if it’s a bit choppy.
I heard the countdown Official Top, plus 1…2…3…4, a big breath and off I went again!
I try not to rush my pulls, I took it nice and easy on descent, concentrating on relaxing my legs but more importantly my throat and chest area to make equalisation was easier. I soon felt the buoyancy change, less effort was required with every pull. One more stronger pull and I was in freefall.
I took my mouthfill straight after my last pull (I was already at 20 metres), a quick top up at 24 metres and then all I had to do was relax and equalise. My freefall felt great, I had good speed which always makes it easier (if you start freefall too early with not enough speed it is easy to lose balance and tense up trying to streamline yourself). It felt really good. Equalisation was much easier because I could really relax early in the dive.
I heard my depth alarm 5 metres before the plate and put out my arm in readiness for the turn. I let my right arm go past the ball to grab the tag while my left hand grabbed the line to stop my descent – this was how Harry Chamas coached me earlier in the year ( it’s not perfected yet but it will be with more practice). I put the tag on the Velcro patch on my belt, smiled to myself and started my accent. I closed my eyes, told myself to relax and started pulling.
I got a nice rhythm going with the pulls, everything felt great, I kept pulling making sure my legs were still relaxed and not tense. Again I felt the change in water temperature, heard the safety scooter and knew I’d soon be at the surface. I was now getting plenty of glide from my pulls as my buoyancy returned. I stopped pulling a few metres from the surface, positioned myself on the line so I would surface facing the judges and that was it!
I was smiling before I even took a breath! The dive felt awesome!
I took my breaths and did my protocol and waited for my card. I couldn’t stop smiling again, the feeling was so good!
I’d done a near perfect dive in The Aida Freediving World Championships and was so proud of myself. My second white card in a major comp made me smile even more. My confidence was sky high, I couldn’t wait for my next dive!
Missed David’s last blog? Catch up with everything, here:
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Results
2019
2018
Personal Bests and Achievements
2019
134m DYNB
*New PB!! 9th Feb ’19*
118m DNF
*New PB!! 17th Feb ’19*
44m CNF
*New PB!! July ’19*
2018
Male UK Freediving Champion 2018
135 DYN MONO
100 DNF
5.48 STA
60m FIM
57m CWT
41m CNF
Competitions
2019
UK Nationals – Bristol – 9th – 10th March
Mini Comp -Dahab – 5th April
Dahab Championships – Dahab – 25th – 29th April
Philippines Diving Champs – Panglao – 18th – 19th May
Double Dip 2019 – Chepstow – 18th July 2019
World Championships – Nice – Sept
Infinity Depth Games – Cyprus – 13th – 20th Oct
2018
Video Library
2018
January 2019
February 2019
March 2019
April 2019
Abbreviations and Meanings
DYN – Dynamic
DNF – Dynamic No Fins
DYNB – Dynamic Bi-Fins
CWT – Constant Weight
CNF – Constant Weight No Fins
FIM – Free Immersion
STA – Static
CWTB – Constant Weight Bi-Fins
FRC – Functional Residual Capacity
Qualifications
RAID Advanced Freediving Instructor
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