Oz Freediving Records and Walter Steyn

By Peter Manns

(As printed in International Freediving & Spearfishing News, July/September 2004)

Walter Steyn is Australia's pre-eminent competition freediver. He currently holds all of the male freediving records in the country and is eager to secure at least one world record. Recently in Hawaii he set 3 new official Australian records of 71m depth - constant ballast, 52m - depth without fins and a 6.10 static. In the past couple of years he has represented Australia at international freediving competitions where he has acquitted himself favourably against the world's best. Wal is also a keen spearfisherman, which must be a worry for those fish that think they live at a safe depth!

I first met Wal at the local pool in Canberra when I heard about training sessions undertaken by other resident spearos. Soon I was introduced to the world of statics, tables, monofins and the sight of ears and lips turning deep purple with extended breath holds. Wal's experience and advice have been invaluable in enabling me to improve my diving ability. Shortly, Wal is off to Cyprus for a freediving competition( tough break! ) so I took the opportunity to ask him a few questions before he left.

How did you become involved in freediving, Wal? I have always loved the sea, I did snorkel and spear a bit when I was younger but never dived very deep because it hurt my ears. It was not until when I learnt to scuba dive I realised you had to equalise. :-) On a scuba diving trip to the Barrier reef some of the best moments I had I was snorkelling instead. Trying to dive with Manta rays I couldn't get close on scuba, was just too slow and too noisy. Instead I jumped in with a snorkel and the experience was magic. When I got back home I wanted to find out how to hold my breath longer. I started looking on the web/forums, books and emailing other freedivers. Reading about people like Umberto Pelizzari diving to 80m with fins just seemed amazing to me. Combined with what I read, I learnt through trial and error and taught myself. I started diving for fun off the boats when others scuba dived, and started getting deeper. Then in 2002 I tried out for the Aus team and ended up competing in Hawaii at the world team championships. It was a great experience, our men's team came 5th out 20, and the women's team came 4th, which is great for a bunch of beginners. I also trained a friend of mine to get on the team. In 5 months he went from being a complete beginner to competing in an international competition, and doing well !

Can you tell me something about your training methods?
Well at the pool I mostly just train dynamics, I don't like statics all that much. I do practise dry statics, mostly on exhale. I also do packing and pack stretching. Packing is sucking in extra air with your cheeks and forcing it into the lungs. This is done immediately before a dive, with it I can increase my lung volume by about 3 litres. What I have been doing more recently is reverse packing and diaphragm stretching. That is blowing out all your air and raising your diaphragm up into your chest. This can help you achieve a lower residual volume, therefore go deeper before you run out of air with which to equalise. This is important for me as equalising has always been my limiting factor in depth diving. I know I have the breathold to do at least 80m but equalising starts getting real tricky for me over 70m. As for actual depth diving practise and don't get to do it that often. I have done most of my real deep dives in Hawaii. I have done some here in NSW but even by boat it's tough to get the sort of depth and favourable conditions I need most of the time.

Any information on diet, tables, statics versus dynamics? CO2 tables seem to have more of a temporary effect, so are best done in the few weeks leading up to a competition. I don't do O2 tables, I find exhale statics quicker and more effective. I think dynamics are probably better all round training for most freediving, but statics can help too. Statics are good way to learn about your bodies diving reflex, and to learn relaxation and proper breathing techniques. There's nothing special I do for diet, just try to eat healthy. Avoid real fatty foods, sugar and reduce caffeine. For freedivers it's important to eat lots of fruit&veg, for vitamins and antioxidants. Also need to get enough Iron for red blood cell production, so lean red meats(not in excess) leafy greens etc. The types of meals I eat whilst training include rice or pasta with chicken or fish, and vegies. The night before a deep dive or static will have a good meal with lots of carbs, but eat nothing in the morning until after the dive. Digesting food raises the metabolism and decreases performance.

What type of equipment do you use?
In the pacific cup I was using Picasso Carbon and Omer fins, cressi minima mask and an omer wetsuit. These days for constant I use a waterway monofin, custom made Elios wetsuit and a sphera mask. For my no-fins diving I use a nose-clip and modified swimming goggles that have a small tube which goes in my mouth to equalise them. I cannot equalise hands free so trying to swim breastroke and pinch my nose at the same time would be difficult !
A custom made wetsuit offers great performance and warmth, mine is also smooth skin outside for reduced drag. I believe that a monofin will give better performance for depth diving although it is a lot more difficult to use properly. I spent 1 year training with a finswimming club and this really helped my monofin technique a lot.

Last November you were in Hawaii for the Kona Freedive Challenge How was that experience and what did you achieve?
The main reason I went to Hawaii was to make an attempt on the World No-fins depth record. That is diving down and up as deep as you can without fins on, basically swimming a type of breastroke. Earlier in 2003 I tried some no-fins depth dives for the first time and did 44m and 48m. I saw that Annabel Briseno who I met in the 2002 Hawaii comp was going for world records in Kona-Hawaii. As a long shot I thought I'd ask if I could attempt a record over there at the same time, she said yes.

On my previous dives I was diving in thick wetsuit in cold water and bad conditions so knew that I could do a lot more. I did not know wether I could reach the world record of 61m. I thought I'd give a shot and if I didn't make the depth in time I could do the dive as a national record instead. Annabel and her husband Matt were great and let me stay with them and really helped me lot to improve my diving technique. After all the no-fins diving I decided to try out a dive with my monofin. I was surprised at how easy it was. I did really have to focus on the equalising, and spent time practising different techniques I got from Annabel. On one of my last training days I set back to back PB's doing a no-fins dive at 55m then 72m with the monofin, I was pretty stoked that day!
The training went pretty well although in the end I had run out of time to do a qualifying dive of 59m needed to attempt the world record. So was decided that I do it as a national record instead. The actual record attempts were tough. I had 3 record attempts each at different disciplines. I had to do the best I could to control my nerves amongst the chaos of boats, divers, judges, video crew and safety people. To make all the records official we had international AIDA judges Kirk Krak and Martin Stepenak (also a world record holder). I managed to set 3 new Australian records, 71m Constant ballast, 52m no-fins and a 6.10 static. Whilst in Hawaii I also attended an advanced freediver clinic and an AIDA judging course with Kirk & Martin. The whole time I spent training with Annabel, Matt and the other divers we really built up a team atmosphere and we were all cheering for each other to do well. All up I had a great time and learned a lot from the other divers.

You've been aiming for a world record in the no fins, constant ballast category. How's that going? The current world record in no-fins diving is still 61m. Last year in Hawaii the best I got to in training was only 55m. After I got back I spent time working on improving my technique and fitness. I went back to Hawaii in March 2004 and I spent lots of time practising no-fins dives, making 56m and 58m very comfortably. Finally at the end of the trip I aimed for a 60m+ dive and managed 62.6m. I was very happy, it was a tough dive and close to my limits but now at least I now know I can make the depth. There may be a chance at a shared a record attempt in Hawaii later this year, but it is not definite at this stage. Part of the problem is cost, a record attempt involves paying for airfares and accommodation of 2 international judges + safety scuba divers etc. Not an easy thing to pay for out of your own pocket.

Do you have any role models in the freediving community?
Training with Annabel Briseno in Hawaii was very motivating. She is currently one of the best female freedivers in the world. At the age of 52 she has to physically train a lot harder then a lot of her younger rivals. Her greatest strengths are her mental focus and determination. During her record attempts she suffered from some sinus problems and was not diving her best, she failed her first few record attempts, which doesn't help for confidence. Still she pushed on and set 2 new world records - a 71m Free immersion and 6.21 static, beating the old record by a good 6 seconds. When I read about Topi Lintukangas and watched the video of his 60m no-fins record I was just blown away, it was the most amazing thing I'd seen in freediving in years. He was diving deeper and faster then most people could with fins on. It inspired me to try out no-fins dives myself. I am also very impressed by Herbert Nitsch. He has set more men's world records then anyone else in the last 5 years, most of them done in competition. He is probably the best all round freediver having set 11 world records in almost every discipline including dynamic, dynamic no-fins, CB, and free immersion. He currently holds the world CB record at 95m. His closest rival is Martin Stepenak who has also set many world records, currently has the free immersion at 102m, and static at 8.06.

The big names overseas have numerous sponsors. Have any companies realised your advertising potential yet? I have had offers just for equipment such as fins and masks. The problem I either use a monofin or no-fins at all so wasn't really helpful. I really do need to spend more effort to try to get sponsors to attempt a world record. Part of the problem is freediving is not really well known, and little publicised in Australia. Even when I do well in competition or set Australian records few people hear about it. I did get a brief mention on 60 minutes last year when they did a story on the Australian team competing in the Hawaii comp. It was a little disappointing when they spent most of the story on Tanya Streeter(USA) rather then on the Aussie team. Do you have any favourite places for freediving? Musgrave Island on the Barrier reef is where I first really got into freediving. Playing with Manta's, turtles, eagle rays and swimming with other fish is a lot of fun. Of course spearfishing there is great and love catching coral trout, my favourite fish to eat. Montague Island is my favourite spot close to home, mostly because I love playing with seals, they are like flying puppy dogs. Also there is plenty of tasty fish to catch and clear deep water. My favourite place for deep diving is the Kona coast on the big Island of Hawaii. It is an ideal place for deep diving. The bay where I trained and set records is both sheltered and offers 20m+ vis, 25-27 degree water temp, and can get to 80m depth with only a 10min swim from shore, no boat needed.

How do you see the future of freediving as a distinct sport in Australia? What are your predictions for some of Australia's leading freedivers?
To start with there really needs to be interest and groups of people getting together to train with. We need to get local competitions together to be able to select teams, and to practise for international competitions. There are definitely some very good freedivers in Australia, including some of the people that were on the Aussie team in 2002. After training with my friend Matt Tough it was obvious he had huge potential. I coached him from being a complete beginner. After only a few weeks training I watched him do a 6 and a half minute static. Also Antony Judge, a keen spearo from Sydney set PB's including 51m depth and 6.45 static after only training for about 4 months. Sacha Dench from Sydney has already broken the women's world static record in training. All of them displayed impressive performances in the pacicific cup, none I think had even reached their potential yet. I do not know if any of these people are keen to compete again, time will tell. Then of course there are the up and coming freedivers. Somebody new to the sport with the right training and techniques may start blowing away Australian and maybe even world records. In freediving genetics definitely does seem to be a big factor, some people are just naturally good at it. That doesn't mean to say that most people can't get good at it with practise.

What are your plans and ambitions for the future?
Apart from a no-fins world record attempt I would definitely like to get together an Australian team for 2005 and compete in the world championships. I can coach and pass on what I have learnt from competitions and training with some of the best freedivers in the world. This year the team world championships are held in Canada, and I thought it would be difficult convincing other people to dive in cold murky water, I was not keen myself. It will take time, effort and lots of volunteers to organise some local competitions. Things like Insurance are also difficult. At least to start with it would be good if people that are interested in competition freediving to be able to get in touch with each other. There is at least 1 club in Manly-Sydney, and about 4 people that I train with in Canberra. I'm hoping to put together a website on competitive freediving which will contain past performances by Australians in competitions, records, photo's and stories of comps. I also want to share some of the training techniques and safety procedures I've learnt by diving with some of the worlds best freedivers.

Any parting tips for newcomers to freediving?
For starters always train with a buddy, the risk just isn't worth it and plus it's a lot more fun and you will improve quicker. Secondly improving your bodies actual 'breathold ability' is actually a slow process. The biggest improvements are made in changes in technique rather then any physical changes that occur in the body. Learning proper breathing, warm-ups, equalising, streamlining, efficient kicking/stroke are all critical. Also attention must be paid to the little things. Simple things such as a better duckdive, or having your arm tucked in may add a few extra m. Add up a few m here and there and in the end you might be talking about 10m or more.

Wal will be leaving in a couple of weeks to attend the Bios Freediver open in Cyprus, a big international competition. No doubt he'll continue to improve on his PB's. After Cyprus perhaps his payoff for all the hard work will come in the form of a coveted world record. Good luck Wal!
If you have questions regarding freediving you can get in touch with Wal via email - walter_steyn@yahoo.com.au