The Kona Challenge 2003: Part II
Posted By Kaori Mitani on 14 February 2004
Annabel's second attempt at the CWNF dive started smoothly, and afterwards she described it as an initially easy dive with no equalization problems. She had touched the bottom and ascended comfortably. But just 3m below the surface, when she thought she'd made it, she had lost control and blacked out on surfacing.
Thursday November 13, was the third day of the competition, with challengers moving to the Static Apnea discipline. Tension was beginning to mount. Annabel was feeling the pressure, and seemed frustrated by her unsuccessful dives thus far. What if she didn't set any records? And another issue was emerging -- she was getting distinct symptoms of the flu.
At least the challengers and crew didn't have the bobbing boat or ocean conditions to contend with that day. The competition was held at a turquoise pool on the premises of the luxurious Mauna Lani Resort, and by 8:30 am all the divers were gathered around the poolside. Four would attempt their static records: Annabel trying to beat the 6:18 world record, Megumi going for a Japanese record of 5:04, Walter for an Australian national record of 6:10, and Bill Graham attempting a U.S. record of 6:53.
Megumi was the first challenger. "I'm getting nervous," she whispered to the timekeeper, Leo Matsuoka, during the warm-up session. When she surfaced, the stopwatch indicated she hadn't reached 4 minutes. The judges suggested that she try again. She did, but couldn't hold her breath longer than 4'30". "I've been practicing a new breath-holding technique for my static performance since coming to Hawaii 2 weeks ago. It worked well, but I didn't have the confidence to use it on this attempt, so I became nervous. I would have needed more time to get used to the new style," Megumi explained later.
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