The Puszta Connection: Freediving in Hungary
Posted By Aniko Kapornaki on 29 September 2003
The Puszta Connection: that is the name by which the Hungarian freedivers are known to the European freediving community. Puszta refers to the steppe, a geological feature and Hungarian tourist attraction (well, and also to our lack of sea) and Connection is really what Hungarian freedivers are famous for: their good relationships with the Austrians, Croats, Germans, and other European neighbors.
The situation of the Hungarians is unique in some ways, but many of the problems they face are not unlike the difficulties freedivers around the world encounter. Hungary does not have a sea and there is only one reasonably deep (about 32 m) lake, in Hegyeshalom, where the Hungarian freedivers can train. Of course, that does not prevent them from practicing their favorite sport, it only makes it more expensive. They go to the Adrian Sea as often as they can in the summer, take part in lake competitions in Austria, and they train in swimming pools in the winter.
According to the chronicles, scuba diving was "born" in Hungary about 50 years ago, and the first recorded freediving record was set in 1960 by Andras Almadi and Istvan Gyorgenyi in Heviz with -30 meters. It was a great achievement in those days even by international standards. For a long time afterwards, the waters remained still.
The first Hungarian records recognized by modern international standards were set by Tamas Szabo, Gyula Szelle and Gyorgy Barabas in Gossau, Austria in 1999. These divers, joined by some friends, decided to found AIDA Hungary, which came into existence in 2000. By 2001, these three divers were still the only active members of the organization. The "new generation" got involved in 2002. Zeljko Vedris, the Croatian freediving champion, organized an Academy for the Hungarians in March 2002, and that is where they learned the nuts and bolts of freediving. AIDA Hungary now has about twenty members, out of whom about ten are competing.
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