Meeting with Umberto Pelizzari in Poznań - relation

November 11, 2016 was a day that will remain long in the memory of all Polish freedivers gathered in Poznan, where they met a true legend of this extraordinary sport – Umberto Pelizzari. He didn’t have to introduce himself, everyone in the room knew exactly who he was and what he had achieved, and the full list of his 16 world records was written on a commemorative postcard. Therefore, in his very first sentences Umberto encouraged the participants to ask questions and even to indicate what topic they were most interested in and what he was going to talk about.

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He began by showing a video of his record-breaking dive to -80m in a fixed balloon (CWT) in 1999. He stressed that, in his opinion, it is this discipline of freediving played in deep waters that is the most difficult, and thus for him the most beautiful. As Umberto explained, this competition is the most difficult mainly because it requires comprehensive preparation. To pass the declared depth in this competition did not yet mean success. Just after the turnaround, the most difficult part had to be overcome, when any thought of doubt could have contributed to the excessive consumption of oxygen, which would then have run out in the last metres.

Several questions were immediately asked about his training, and Umberto was happy to answer about what his programme was like. He shared with the participants the techniques he used to visualise and build awareness of his thoughts during the start. His speech was often varied with jokes and when asked about the essence of a freediver’s diet, he replied that his diet was based only on the best Italian dishes such as pasta, pizza and chocolate. This is because, spending hours a day training, he never had to worry about calories, because he burned plenty of them every day.

He then presented a video of a 130m dive when he set another world record in the variable weight category (VWT). In this competition, the athlete can use up to 30 kg of extra weight to free dive and descend to the correct depth without losing too much energy and oxygen, and only return to the surface using muscle power, fin technique or by pulling himself up on the rope as is done in the free immersion discipline (FIM).

He recalled his stories and experiences as an underwater hunter, hunting fish in various bodies of water around the world. Nevertheless, he has always considered the Mediterranean Sea as the best place to dive. His favourite species is the “snapper”, a fish that is not easy to get, as it requires the right behaviour throughout the dive – “you have to become part of that environment, otherwise the fish will sense it and you won’t be able to catch it”.

Another film presented was that of the deepest dive of his career – to a depth of 150m, which, according to scientists at the time, was considered impossible for a man diving on one breath. The “no limits” competition allows freedivers to use any weight for diving, and for ascending they use air in a cylinder attached to a so-called “lift” which, after being released into a special balloon, lifts the diver to the surface. So in this category, muscular strength and endurance are not important.

The “no limits” discipline is based primarily on concentration, composure and the ability to efficiently equalize pressure, the guest said. The length of the dive was no obstacle for him, as he completed his record-breaking dive to a depth of 150m in 2 minutes 57 seconds. Returning to the surface he slowed down as he passed the belay divers to celebrate his success with them while still underwater. Luckily Umberto also had no problems equalizing the pressure and could descend at up to 3 metres per second. During the “last descent”, the art of concentration and determination brought him success and a 16th world record immortalising his several years of freediver career. This historic dive took place with the support of a 97-metre Navy Anteo boat and a whole staff of dedicated people.

He himself benefited from the experience of the pioneers of the freediving discipline – Jacques Mayol and Enzo Maiorca (protagonists of the film “The Big Blue”). Although Enzo Maiorca was always very open and friendly towards Umberto, Mayol was his real teacher. Umberto recalled several stories of what these teachings were like – such as how he spent several weeks every day diving to depths of no more than 15 metres to finally understand that his only job was simply to relax and enjoy being in the water, not to torment his body to the limit.

Mayol passed on to him teachings on the mental realm and the area of breathing techniques, which he took from Asian monks and adapted to freediving, and his main coach who ran the training programme throughout his career was Massimo Giudicelli. Finally, Umberto was asked about the importance of yoga in a freediver’s training. He pointed out that the two groups should not be equated with each other. Freediving reaches into the area of yoga mainly in terms of breathing exercises commonly referred to as “pranayama”.

There was also a question about the friendship between him and Pipin Ferreras, with whom he mainly fought for world records. Umberto replied that it was a healthy rivalry between the two athletes, their teams and a bunch of supportive fans celebrating their idol’s successes, but that they had not met once in 25 years. Even the film that was produced by IMAX titled. “Even the IMAX-produced film Ocean Man, which tells the story of the two freedivers, was shot in such a way that the two never even met once during the entire production.

It is hoped that soon freediving can again become a more attractive discipline for the media. Thanks to modern technology and a drone project developed by a Polish engineer, it is now possible to follow a diver at the right speed during his entire dive and transmit the image live. Diveye, as this is the name of this underwater drone, appeared in Poznan and the participants of the meeting after Umberto’s official speech could see how it looks live.

At the end of the meeting with Umberto, the guests could take a commemorative photo and get an autograph from the author of “The Freediving Handbook”, a nearly 500-page book containing specialist knowledge in the field of freediving theory, practical examples of exercises and training, which is one of the most recognised positions in the field of freediving worldwide. The first edition was translated into Polish, but already a few years ago it was sold out. Less than a year ago, an updated edition with current scientific discoveries in the sphere of physiology, training and the body’s reaction to the practice of freediving was published, which is currently available for sale in English on the website of the organizer of the event.

It was a hugely inspiring meeting with a great champion, athlete, record-breaker, sea enthusiast, who has made many remarkable achievements thanks to his persistence, determination and hard work on his way to success, which his friends and a number of supportive people helped him to forge. We look forward to him visiting us again and revealing even more stories from his journey into the deep blue.

Thanks to the partners who got involved in this event:

• Sheraton Poznan Hotel
• Freediving Association of Poland
• Spearfishing Association of Poland
• Diveye

Agnieszka Kalska
Organiser of the meeting – Freediving and Swimming School FREEBODY
www.freebody.eu
Full photo report on home page of the organiser.

Source: Press release