El Reto en el Abismo : Carlos and Stig (Part II)
Posted By Peter Scott on 10 November 2003
Crazy Dane, Crazy Venezuelan
The first attempt of El Reto en el Abismo was constant weight without fins, originally dubbed "Crazy Cuban". Both freedivers would make their attempts on the same day, starting with a -60 metre dive. By this time, the main event was in full swing, crowds had gathered and the pressure was on to make it a success.
Carlos and the event organizers were up to the task.
"Carlos is a true ambassador," says Perry Gladstone, a new AIDA judge from Toronto, Canada, on site for the record attempts, "and his gracious manner, which was apparent from my first arrival in Venezuela, seems to have transcended the man and permeated the entire freediving community."
One of the most consistent freedivers in the world, Carlos has never missed his depth or time at an international competition, including his close second to Martin Stepanek at the 2003 Sony Freediver Open Classic, where he dove to -85 metres in constant weight.
"Carlos has an incredible ability to focus his concentration in spite of the almost constant chaos around him," says Gladstone, "I can't help but think that a dedicated coach would be beneficial in reducing distractions. There is no question in my mind that this was a major contributing factor to his unsuccessful first attempt on the no-fins record, in which he experienced his first ever blackout."
The weather conditions were less than ideal on the day of the attempt, and although Carlos had enjoyed an excellent training dive to --64 metres prior to his first attempt, he was distracted by the logistics of the operation and suffered a blackout on the dive.
Carlos' blackout was a psychological setback and admits that he underestimated the difficulty of the initial --60 metre attempt.
"It took all my concentration to chase away the negative images in my mind after the blackout," he says, "Any record attempt requires your full attention. I should have left the details to my team as much as possible."
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