Poolside at the 3rd Dutch Apnea Open
Posted By Sam Kirby on 20 December 2004
Again, things ran smoothly. My own dive went to plan and as we got further down the list, the distances grew longer. The next real highlight was the no fins swim by Renate De Bruijn. Renate already held the world record for no fins. A complete natural, she has only been freediving a couple of years. She entered the pool not only without fins but also with no mask, goggles or nose clip - her usual technique. Yet another beautiful calm swim, although apparently a bit faster than usual and she surfaced at 108m, unfortunately with a samba. Once again everyone was watching and you could feel the disappointment shake the room. It didn't stop her smiling though and she will be back. How anyone could even get near a world record in December - more a time for chocolate, wine and hibernation than serious training!
Tom had another go. One of the few to wear a suit for dynamic, the world watched as he breathed up and tried to remain calm before an attempt at the world record with fins. Two world records in one day would have been a bit too much though and Tom surfaced cleanly after 163m.
Other National Records set at the event included: Robert Cetler of Poland with a static breath hold of 6:38, Haico Aaldering of the Netherlands with 134m dynamic with fins, Malgorzata Matkowska of Poland with a static breath hold of 5:33 and 135m dynamic with fins, Kerstin Mattes of Germany with a 121m dynamic with fins, Maja Lund Loekkegaard of Denmark with a static breath hold of 4:35 and 74m dynamic no fins, Nanja van den Broek of the Netherlands with a static breath hold of 5:12 and Veronika Dittes of Austria with a static breath hold of 5:01.
And so - to the party. A laid back dinner at the Stayokay with some impressive prizes handed over. Sponsors included Deeper Blue, Specialfins and Interbrew and specially designed trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each sex. And so to the winners - the full results are available on the official website http://www.immersion.nu/competition/index.htm. In the Women's - 1st Malgorzata Matkowska from Poland, 2nd Kerstin Mattes from Germany who overcame her famous competition nerves and 3rd Nanja Van den Broek from the Netherlands. Three almost totally new names, and a reassurance that lots of new talent is on its way up the freediving ranks.
The top men were more predictable. Tom Sietas of course stole the show, Herbert Nitsch took second place winning yet another fin bag amongst other prizes and Robert Cetler from Poland came third.
Overall the Polish team were strong and surprised everyone. The Dutch were very well represented, showing just how many of this nation really do freedive. Belgium also had a good show of fins and it was intriguing talking to the Danish about how they cope with the lack of deep, manageable water in their native land. The French were rather notable in their absence, and the party spirit they tend to carry along with them was slightly missing - but then this was the middle of winter in the lowlands so how could we expect the Med dwellers to turn up in force.
Rather than riotous, this party was cosy, relaxed and drunken in a gentle, peaceful kind of way. No sumo wrestling but lots of friendships forged, or strengthened and the odd glint of something in the odd eye. Some good stories swapped hands, mobile phone numbers exchanged and plenty of plans made to see each other at the next one. Big thanks and congratulations go out to Pim and Susan for organising such a great event and hope to see you all at the SaltFree Open next May.
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