Freediver targets German freshwater record in Lake Starnberg

BR reported that 29-year-old freediver Minja Marinković planned to dive 85 metres on a single breath in Lake Starnberg on Saturday, aiming to break Germany’s freshwater record in free immersion, without fins.

Marinković will descend along a rope at the Allmannshausen steep wall on the lake’s eastern shore. From about 30 metres, he will enter free fall with his head first, turn at the target depth and pull himself back up using the rope. He will wear gardening gloves over his neoprene gloves to improve his grip.

At a depth of more than 80 metres, the pressure reaches about nine bar, compressing the air in the lungs to roughly one ninth of its normal volume. The water temperature is about four degrees Celsius, even in summer, and there is complete darkness.

Marinković describes the dive as peaceful and similar to meditation, despite the extreme conditions. He says he cannot form thoughts at that depth because every thought consumes oxygen.

An official from Aida International, described by BR as the world’s largest freediving association, will assess whether he achieves the record. The current German record in free immersion is 80 metres and was set in 2011.

The same steep wall was the scene of an unsuccessful record attempt in 2018. Freediver Jens Stötzner reached 81 metres but lost consciousness on the way back up. His safety team intervened, making the record attempt invalid.

Training for extreme conditions

Marinković, who is among the world’s top freedivers and is writing his engineering doctorate in Munich, has trained according to a detailed plan. Large muscle mass would be counterproductive because it consumes oxygen.

His training partner Samuel Mauch said they mentally rehearse the entire dive so that Marinković can follow the sequence automatically. Aida Germany deputy chairman Nils Heininger said the challenge was remaining mentally calm while the body was preparing to enter an alarm state.

The dive is expected to last about three minutes. Aida chairman Michael Nedwed said freediving offered a quieter way of experiencing the underwater world and appealed to people because it required little equipment.

The main danger in freediving is unconsciousness caused by a lack of oxygen. Marinković said competitions take place under tightly controlled conditions, with sonar, a counterweight system and several safety divers.