I just got to last week's New Yorker, and there's a great article on free diving by Alec Wilkinson. Unfortunately, the full article needs a subscription.
Basically, free diving is the most extreme water sport there is and, according to the article, the 2nd most dangerous sport in the world, the first being base jumping. With no equipment other than weights and fins, you take a single breath, go down as deep as you can, and swim back up with the help of a monofin (see pic, it's very fast in a pool). The focus of the article is the competition between the two best female free divers, Sara Campbell and Natalia Molchanova, to be the first to break the 100 meter depth barrier. So far Sara Campbell has gotten the closest; she reached 100m, swam back up, took 2 breaths...then blacked out, breaking the rule requiring 60 seconds of consciousness upon reaching the surface.
How many other sports push the limits of the human body so far that there needs to be a requirement on consciousness, not only during a run, but after you reach the finish line?
Isn't this just a more intense version of the gallon of milk challenge?
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