Newbie freediver takes National Record

A newcomer to competitive freediving has taken his first British National Record in a special event held in Greece last month.

Ed Wardle, 40, reached a depth of 55m in the Constant No Fins category (CNF), whereby freedivers swim breaststroke down and back.

The event took place in Santorini, Greece on 21 June 2011. The dive took 2 minutes 11 seconds.

Ed, originally from Banchory in north east Scotland, now living in London with his partner and their new baby, Gracie, was taught to swim at an early age by his parents following the tragic drowning of his older brother before Ed’s birth. This early training and a healthy respect for water obviously set him in good stead for his later freediving career.

Ed training

Ed said: “No Fins is really what I’ve done since I was a kid - jumping off bridges and diving for pearls. It seems so natural to just swim down and back, no fins, no weights, no sled. It also looks beautiful and takes precision and grace but it’s tough, a real challenge.”

Ed is no stranger to adventure and challenge. As well as having twice scaled Everest, from both the north and south sides, he has also trekked to the North Pole and last year spent 50 days completely alone in the Canadian wilderness, an experience which he filmed for TV (Alone in the Wild) and which won him several nominations, including a BAFTA.

The flyer for Ed's show

Trained by No Fins expert, Will Winram, Ed has progressed rapidly in his diving this year, and has reached 60m in practice dives. He hopes to attend the World Championships this year, and certainly has ambitions to see how far he can go in the No Fins (CNF) discipline, which he calls ‘the king of the sport’.

Ed commented after his dive: “To be honest I’m afraid of deep water. The biggest challenge for me has been to overcome my fear of depth - I’ve had to work hard to manage the instinct to panic. And I still have a tendency to come up too fast - but this is a nice start indeed!”

Ed takes the record from two-times CNF record holder, Dave Tranfield, who, in the nature of the sport, was there to support Ed, and was the first to congratulate him on his new record.

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