#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The third stage of the first freediving training course, organized as part of a joint project of the Norilsk Development Agency (ARN) and the Freediving Federation to develop this sport in Taimyr, has been completed.
For three days, lake Kunzhevoe, 58 meters deep, became the venue for sports seminars and certification of Norilsk residents. Five northerners went to a three-day camp to complete the final stage of their certification – diving 15 meters in open water.
Master of Sports and champion of Russia Dmitry Sokolov, his personal record is 100 meters under the lake Baikal’s ice, as well as Yulia Obolkina with a personal record of diving to a depth of 43 meters, became guides to the underwater world this time.
At the seminar, the guys talked about the work of body systems and about methods of protection against barotrauma.
“Safety is everything. Therefore, freedivers dive at least in pairs; every athlete must have the rescue skill. At the same time, the technique must be competent so as not to harm your friend”, says Dmitry Sokolov.
The first dives into the lake were carried out to a depth of 5-10 meters. The next day we mastered a depth of up to 15 meters.
“I do swimming, winter swimming and SUP. I used to be fond of spearfishing, but freediving is completely different. There is both excitement and a feeling of something unfamiliar, especially when diving for the first time in a wetsuit into icy water.
I received full support from our instructors: they kept me on the water and told me how to breathe, where to look, what to do, how to think”, said Alexander Vorobyov, a participant in the course.
As a result, the Norilsk team passed the standard required for certification – a dive of 15 meters – with ease. Some even overfulfilled the task, conquering a depth of up to 20 meters.
“The participants exceeded all our expectations. I kept thinking that somewhere there must be a heavy step on which they would stumble. This could be the complexity of the location, and the limited preparation time, and the water temperature. People in the warm sea cannot dive 12 meters, but for the northerners everything turned out to be quite achievable”, Dmitry Sokolov admitted.
This autumn the best athletes will take part in freediving competitions on lake Lama. The freediving development project in Taimyr is being implemented with the support of the Nornickel company.
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Text: Marina Horoshevskaya, Photo: Norilsk Development Agency
