Berlin 2005
Posted By Panos Lianos on 8 March 2005
Introduction
Looks like I have managed to convince some of my fellow Greek freedivers, that international competitions are great fun. At least that’s what I thought at first, when Panagiota Balanou, one of the top freediving girls in Greece suggested that some of us compete at the “7th Berlin Master Cup”. She then told us that her parents live in Berlin and that we could stay with them. She also added that flights with Easyjet were cheap. Hmm! So much for believing that I actually inspired people to compete at international events!!
The weather in Berlin was cold. Some friends back in Bristol used to call me a “mouse”, but seriously, Berlin was cold. Four of us arrived at the airport a couple of days before the competition: Panagiota, Natassa, Giannis and myself. The Balanou family provided some very appreciated hospitality, including generous portions of Greek food!
The Competition
This was an indoor competition that started at 5:00 pm. All athletes arrived a little early in order to register and hand in medicals etc. It was a nice opportunity to see some familiar faces from past competitions and meet some people who I only knew by name. The funny part was when I got in a conversation with Karsten Schneider who was kind enough to pretend to know who I was. I was sure some other German set the whole thing up. And I was very disappointed not to see the Deepest Bear. Too bad, I had a hot gift for him!
Static apnea took place at the small pool, since the main pool was busy at the time. There were three official zones, each one with a judge, an assistant judge, a safety diver and a cameraman. Thanks to the fact that Tom Sietas and Herbert Nitsch were not present, no one was really sure who was going to win. When static apnea started, I met and got in a conversation with Wolfram Neugebauer. We talked about what we were going to do. He had announced 6:30 in static apnea and 25m in dynamic. I was honestly surprised when he told me that he thought I was the favorite for this competition. I couldn’t believe it! Were the Germans playing a practical joke on me? I simply replied, “No man, YOU are the favorite”. I mean the guy was planning to do more than 6:30 in static….
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