From June 9 to June 11, the 2019 Asian Cup Free Diving Tournament was held in Banglau, Philippines. As the largest annual event in Asia, 60 athletes from 20 countries participated. Among them, Xu Tongtong, a Chinese freestyle diver from Anhui Province, broke the previous depth record maintained by Lu Wenjie and became the holder of the Chinese women's depth record in the Everlasting Weight Web Event with a score of 87 meters. Over the next two days, she also scored well in climbing rope, diving and weightlessness, and eventually ranked second in the women's total score.
On August 10, Xu Tongtong continued to break the national record of weightlessness held by Lu Wenjie at the Deep Blue Free Diving Competition in Banglau, Philippines, with 61 meters and became the holder of the Chinese women's depth record.
After the match, we interviewed Xu Tongtong:
Are you nervous before you dive?
Free diving is different from other competitive sports. We should not be very excited during the competition. Instead, we should let ourselves enter a very relaxed state. It is better to fall asleep soon. This will reduce the heart rate and save oxygen consumption. It is impossible to say that you are not nervous, but when you go to the battlefield, you immediately empty yourself and enter the state.
Have you ever thought that one day you can reach such a level?
No, I've been in free diving for quite a long time, but I've tried to start competing for a short time. This year is the second year. You need to keep your body's ability in the state of preparation, live a self-disciplined life every day, and concentrate all your energy on research and technology. You must be conservative and make progress step by step. I believe that if you take the time to train patiently and periodically, everyone can reach their hearts. Goals.
What do you like most about free diving?
I like it because it scares me and scares me of the unknown depth, and I don't feel confident. But it's because of fear that it's fun!
Freedom latent for me is the process of self-dialogue, to trust myself 100% and concentrate on the process of dive. If I do not have enough confidence in this dive, there will surely be such and such problems. These problems are all psychological, so firm belief, from the beginning to the end, you will meditate on every detail, over and over again!
Until you trust yourself completely! I also regard freedom as a way of self-cultivation.
Describe your last game experience?
I was very impressed by the last match. The players were in the middle of a typhoon. The waves are very big, and the current under the water is very large. Everyone goes to the stadium every day to wait for the weather to change, and waits for the referee to announce whether the game will go smoothly today. Despite the weather, many players also played very well, and this was my second national record. Compared with the national record, it was the Webless CNF. Web-free refers to a project that dives and returns by swimming without using any equipment. It's a very primitive project and the most difficult one. I'm afraid that the weather will be as good as the previous two days. Everything went well. I began to relax, ready to enter the state, began. One metre, two metres, five metres, 10 metres, 20 metres, 50 metres to 61 metres. I got the bottom brand. I firmly believe that I can succeed in this potential. I am one meter and one meter close to the surface of the water. My body is very eager to breathe. I come out of the water and resume breathing. I'm ok. Then the referee gave me a white card, and everyone's sparkling encouragement. I succeeded.
What are the next goals?
I enjoy training very much, so I will keep on training. It's even better to have a chance to bring good news to you all.
What would you like to say to other freelancers?
The first and most important thing is security. We should never dive alone.
Then there is the importance of scientific training. Step by step and conservative attitude.
Finally, I hope I can do my best for the development of free diving.