Competitive freedivers Tim Money and Liv Philip have been named male and female National Champions of the sport by the British Freediving Association (BFA). The annual awards are based on competition results across all disciplines in the pool and open water.
As the BFA points out, for British competitors this means training year-round but often having to travel abroad to be able to reach the depths required in suitable conditions.
The two top freedivers are “not only consistent high-performing athletes on the pool circuit, but they rank at a high level in depth disciplines as well,” says the association.
It’s the 10th consecutive year in which Philip has won the British Championship.
“In the beginning I just wanted to hit the water with any excuse to do so, which is where my desire to do all the pool and depth disciplines came from,” she said. “Now I’m a very experienced diver, things of course change, and I find new reasons to continue competition freediving.“
A recent 75m competition personal best in the Constant Weight category was achieved despite having “very limited training time and resources, and very few training days doing depth in the sea”.
Now Philip says she is looking forward to the 2017 Depth World Championship in Roatan in August.
Tim Money said of the award: “It’s really challenging to get points on all disciplines, and I almost see it as the pentathlon of freediving, as it’s very hard to train and do well across the board. My head says I should be more specific and concentrate on one event to progress – however, the excitement factor throws that out the window and I have a go at everything, which is great fun.
“My main challenge is with time between teaching, family and work – I just don’t get to do enough diving or events. I managed to get to two events this year, so only just got points in all disciplines, and hope to do more in the future.”
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17-Feb-17
