'I didn't even know this was humanly possible': the woman who can descend into the sea on one breath

[Judi Lynn]

Scientists once thought humans could swim to a maximum depth of 30m on a single breath. Amber Bourke has gone deeper than 70m and physiology alone can’t explain why

Meet more superhumans in our series
Bronwyn Adcock
Sat 5 Feb 2022 14.00 EST

Ten years ago, Australian Amber Bourke was in her early 20s and backpacking through Egypt when she discovered something astonishing about herself. In a little village on the Sinai peninsula she came across a place that taught “free diving” – underwater diving without any breathing apparatus – and decided to give it a try.

“I held my breath for four minutes and I dove to 18 metres,” says Bourke, who is the current women’s Australian pool and depth freediving champion. “And both of those things, I didn’t realise was possible.”

Bourke had been a champion synchronised swimmer when she was a teenager, so already knew she could hold her breath for several minutes at a time. But discovering free diving “just opened my eyes to the possibilities … and I just got hooked on a feeling of diving deeper and wanted to see what I was capable of and how deep I could go.”

By 2018, Bourke had established herself as one of the best competitive free divers in the world, and in deep waters off the coast of the Philippines, was ready to attempt to break the women’s world record in the discipline of “constant weight no fins”.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/06/i-didnt-even-know-this-was-humanly-possible-the-woman-who-can-descend-into-the-sea-on-one-breath

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Oh, my.

I have trouble holding my breath for even 20 seconds. I would drown very quickly in the wrong circumstances. So I'm in awe of this.

[Skittles]

2. this....will not end well

that is my thought

[Irish_Dem]

3. I had the same thought at the end of the story. :(

[gristy]

4. my thought too when I saw this in the OP

"I just got hooked on a feeling of diving deeper and wanted to see what I was capable of and how deep I could go."

I hope she quits soon while she's ahead.

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. +1

[Duppers]

6. Amazing!