SA freediver sets Israeli record in Philippines

Johannesburg-born freediver Thalia Sklair set an Israeli national record for the sixth time by diving a length of 175m underwater in the Dynamic Apnea discipline at the AIDA (International Association for the Development of Apnea) Panglao Pool Championship in the Philippines last month.

This Israeli record and her static time of 06:03 meant that Sklair, 38, was the female winner of the fifth season of the championship, held from 14 to 16 February.

“I was quite surprised at my result in the dynamic discipline as I fell sick three nights before day one of the competition,” says Sklair, the only Israeli competitor and the lone South African, although she isn’t competing for South Africa.

The daughter of a South African father and Israeli mother, Sklair acquired Israeli citizenship upon entering the country for the first time when she was about 10 months old. This means that she can choose to compete for Israel or for South Africa every two to three years.

Sklair decided not to compete on the first day of the competition in the Philippines municipality of Panglao, known for its white sand beach and crystal-clear waters. She wanted to give herself time to recover, but she felt happy to do so on the third and last day of the event, when she improved on her previous personal best by 22m in a record underwater dive.

“My sense of achievement in this sport comes from improving on my own performance,” she said. “No matter the points, if I haven’t improved, that momentary satisfaction is missing.”

While diving the length of 175m underwater, equivalent to more than one and a half football fields, sounds challenging, Sklair found the task to be one of her most relaxed dynamic dives ever. “I didn’t put any pressure on myself, so despite pre-dive competition jitters, during the dive, I was calm, present, and focused.

“The chlorine in the water was extremely strong, so as I lowered my head into the water to start the dive, my eyeballs felt like they were going to burn off my face, but there was no going back so I had to accept it quickly and focus on staying relaxed regardless. That was the most challenging part. As I passed 75m, the burn dissipated slightly, and I began to feel a little urge to breathe as I neared 100m. But I was calm and just allowed all the sensations that followed to be as they built up one on top of the next.”

Sklair said to herself, “If I can just make 125m, one more turn at the wall of the pool, I’ll still be ok.” When she reached 175m, “even though I still felt okay, I contemplated my situation and made the decision to surface at the wall, even though I may have been able to turn again.” At this point in her freediving journey, she wants to surface clean to foster a positive association with competing and apnea.

The competition in Panglao hosted athletes of all levels from all over the world. “It was exciting to meet them all. This venue has held plenty of competitions and you could see it, it was 100% geared up for professional freedive training. Experienced judges and safety divers, an exquisite outdoor pool, the sun was scorching, palm trees everywhere – a typical humid, tropical climate. Freediving paradise!

“It was quite a personal journey,” she said. “Deciding not to compete on day one was tough, as I had spent so much energy preparing for the competition. But on day two, my result was better than expected considering the circumstances, and by day three, I was in good form.”

Sklair, an alumnus of King David Linksfield and the University of the Witwatersrand, describes Panglao as one of the global hotspots for instructors and athletes to train at, as well as beginners who want to do freedive courses. “I was working in the Philippines as a freediving instructor on another island,” she said. “After that, I decided to take a month to train in Panglao. My timing there coincided with these competition dates, so I entered. Regardless of what my results would be or what phase of training I’m in, I have to harness every opportunity to compete. First, to get used to it, second, it just might be the right day to get a good dive with an official result.”

Leading up to the competition, she did weight training, endurance, static breath-holding, and depth diving in the sea. She also went out on some reef dives and whale shark diving to explore the Panglao underwater environment, known to be frequented by giant frogfish and green sea turtles.

She says there are no secrets to her consistent achievement. “You just have to keep training and rest enough.”

Sklair, whose late grandfather, Yossi Tsabari, was an Israeli athletics champion, aims to get better each day and enter another world championship.

“I’ll be based in Eilat teaching freediving courses for the immediate future, and will continue to train and compete as much as possible in Israel or wherever I end up. As long as my results keep improving, it means my body is adapting long-term. That’s the ultimate goal.”