Diver aims to go deeper

PUSHING THE LIMITS: Former Hawke's Bay man William Trubridge will attempt another world record dive in the Bahamas next month.

World record freediver William Trubridge will be pushing himself to extreme limits of endurance as he attempts to break his own current record for an unassisted free dive.
Steinlager Pure has been supporting the former Hawke's Bay man this year and will broadcast the attempt to a nail-biting nation at 8am during the Breakfast show on TV One.
"I've been preparing for this attempt for the past 11 months and it feels like I've got the support of the nation behind me. It means a lot having the dive broadcast and I'm determined to do New Zealand proud," Mr Trubridge said.
Steinlager senior brand manager Michael Taylor said the company was pleased to partner with TVNZ to supply coverage of the attempt and to "give William the recognition he deserves by encouraging the support of the nation".
"Steinlager has long been a vocal champion for the indomitable Kiwi spirit that refuses to accept limitations. In William, Steinlager Pure has identified an incredible New Zealander who defies the physical and mental pressures of what is normal for a human body. He is not content to sit on his unassisted freedive world record of 101 metres and we wish him all the very best with his attempt to reach 102 metres in December," Mr Taylor said.
Mr Trubridge, a former Havelock North High School student, said the appeal of freediving was different to any other sport. "The fact we're completely immersed in liquid; a single breath, the weightlessness, the absence of sounds, the dullness of the colours ... everything is subtracted."
At 100m deep, there's no longer light, sound or gravity as we know it - everything is stripped away, leaving just the diver and his mental strength, stamina and resilience.
It will make for gripping TV and an unmissable piece of New Zealand history."
Based in the Bahamas, the freediver lives near a massive underwater sinkhole called Dean's Blue Hole, a 200m-deep cavern that's perfect for freediving.
Unlike other sports, adrenaline can work against a freediver, so instead of psyching himself up before a dive, William must calm himself to control nerves and anxiety and feel completely relaxed in order to conserve oxygen.
Unsurprisingly, he practises meditation and yoga as part of his training and is able to hold his breath for eight minutes (the average is around one minute, maybe two at a stretch before an overwhelming urge to inhale kicks in).
The attempt will be televised on Wednesday, December 3 on TV One.