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Cape Town - South Africa's pool freediving record books have been rewritten, thanks to Amber Fillary.
Fillary set three new national records at the recent national championships in Port Elizabeth.
The records to fall were in the following categories:
Static - lying with your head in the water while holding your breath.
Dynamic without Fins - involves swimming as far as possible underwater using an adapted breaststroke technique. No fins or other artificial propulsion devices are allowed. This discipline is regarded as the most athletic of the pool freediving disciplines.
Dynamic with Fins - involves covering lengths using a mono fin. It's the distance covered that is measured, not the speed. In general, the slower one goes, the more relaxed one is, which is better as your body uses less oxygen.
In the Static category, Fillary broke the record of five and a half minutes, setting a new time of six minutes.
In the Dynamic without Fins category, Fillary broke her own two-year-old record of 130 metres, setting a new distance of 138 metres.
In the Dynamic with Fins category, the record to beat was 150 metres, which Fillary easily accounted for, setting a new distance to beat of 158 metres.
Fillary, who only got into free diving while in Egypt three years ago, expressed her pleasure - and surprise - at her record feats, explaining that she hadn't in fact done much training.
Fillary's future goals will hopefully include a world record attempt, as well as a dynamic swim in ice.
Fillary concluded by urging caution to those attempting such record feats without proper training, as one could easily pass out.
