An Adelaide chiropractor has been named Australia’s deepest man – at least while he’s in the water.
And despite achieving two new records in breathhold diving, Michael Cheesman is still in pursuit of his perfect dive.
Cheesman, 44, broke two of three possible Australian records last week at Sharm el Sheikh, in the Red Sea, by diving more than 100m with only a single breath and a rope.
Based in Adelaide, Cheesman broke the previous records by one metre each.
He reached 106m in the No Limits category, and 101m in the Variable Weight category.
Cheesman was also hoping to break a record in the Free Immersion category, but black-outs on his two attempts held him back from the hat trick.
Free diving is diving under water with a single breath of air.
Cheesman first gave it a go at a course in Florida in 2007, and has been free diving ever since.
“I just love being present in the moment and really focussing,” Cheesman said. “I’ve always loved the sea. I can just feel the sea calling.”
He did not spend a lot of time practising for the record-breaking dive.
“I did think about it a lot, just mentally rehearsing,” he said.
“People like free diving for all kinds of reasons. I just like to go deep. I enjoy it.
“There’s all these aspects of putting it all together, but for me it’s the pursuit of the perfect dive.
“I think I’ll be an old man before I think, `that was perfect’.”
Social Profiles