A celebrated French winemaker, Frédéric Panaïotis, has died while freediving in a Belgian quarry. Described as a keen and skilled freediver and instructor with more than 15 years’ experience, he had been taking part in a training session in the Carrière de Rochefontaine, a disused red marble quarry near Philippeville, with three other divers from the Reims Palmes Apnée freediving club.
The popular dive-site is known for its depth, steep walls and deliberately submerged attractions, with depths ranging down to 52m. On Panaïotis’s second dive to 25m on 15 June, all that is known is that he lost contact with his safety line, and it took 10 minutes before his body could be found and recovered.
Also read: Teenage freediver dies in Spain
Last year the 60-year-old had told the newspaper L’Opinion that he enjoyed freediver training two or three times a week.
“It’s an ideal sport for taking control of yourself and gaining perspective,” he said. “Freediving teaches us to master our bodies. It’s an inner journey, through an effort that is gentle and, paradoxically, requires relaxation and tone.”
Panaïotis had worked for Veuve Clicquot for 12 years before joining Maison Ruinart, part of Moët & Chandon, in 2007. As its chef de cave, he would oversee all aspects of Champagne production, and has been described in tributes as “one of the leading winemakers of his generation”.
New under-ice record
In other freediving news, Finnish freediver Olavi Paananen has been confirmed as the new Guinness World Record-holder for longest under-ice swim without fins or a wetsuit.
On 8 March Paananen swam just over 107m under a frozen lake in Laukaa, Finland, surpassing the previous record by centimetres – 0.83m. A member of his national freediving team, he trained for seven months in extreme cold conditions to achieve the record.
Also on Divernet: How Croatian freediver held breath for 29 minutes, Freediver Klovar breaks Trubridge’s 17-year no-fins reign, Polish freedivers make big splash in Athens, Jailed: Dive-shop owner who left freediver solo
