Marta Gil González, an athlete and freediving instructor who resides in Lanzarote, became interested in this sport in 2019, and has participated in her first freediving world championship held in Cyprus from September 21 to 30.
She participated in the championship in the constant weight with fins modality, one of the most practiced modalities. "It's the most physically demanding, you have to go down without fins and you don't get help from anything," she highlighted to La Voz. A complicated modality within the four in which "most compete": "it's the most tiring and challenging," she confirms.
Among the four modalities in which most compete, she acknowledges having done "in all of them," Constant weight with fins, with monofin, with bifins (two fins) and free immersion (you help yourself with a rope). Although after the test, "I was left wanting to continue training more," she points out. Which makes it clear that she always wants to dive back into the sea.
A sport that helps combat stress
A type of sport that provides physical but also mental benefits. "The beauty of freediving is the tools it provides on a mental level, it teaches you to stay calm in situations where you are more stressed and to learn to relax and calm down," she says.
"Freediving teaches you to stay calm in situations where you are more stressed and to learn to relax and calm down"
A relaxing state that is found in the "silence that the sea provides and the sensation of floating" that is felt under the water. A question that people who start freediving ask themselves. Does it offer something positive to those who feel overwhelmed in the water? The athlete answers affirmatively: "Although it may seem the opposite, people who get overwhelmed in the water find a benefit within the sea when practicing this sport."
In addition, it also helps to forget the "problems of everyday life," says Gil, which serves as therapy. "When you have problems and stress from work, you enter the water and relax." It is also a very visual and contact sport for people who love nature, something that she "has always liked," she confesses.
A sport that should always be practiced accompanied, so Gil tells us that "it is a "company" sport." Freediving creates companionship and union among athletes each time one of them exceeds their mark. "It's nice to see others reach a new depth," reveals Marta.
An extreme sport that if practiced alone can carry "risk," she says. Although, if it is carried out correctly and with "all the knowledge that is currently available, it is not as much as it may seem," she says.
Lanzarote: a perfect place to practice freediving
We know that Lanzarote is perfect for doing other water sports such as surfing or diving, but also for getting into freediving. Gil gives us a detail about the natural environment of the island. "Lanzarote is an incredible place to freedive," we must recognize that there are "few places in Europe where you can find so much depth near the coast."
She confesses that unlike other water sports such as diving, "the way you relate to marine animals is different." In addition to freediving, she also practices surfing. "Both sports are closely related" and are "complementary." In the case of surfing, like freediving, it gives you "security" and "helps you to have it even if a wave rolls you," she concludes.