Mullingar free diver in bid for record

Dave McGowan, the second deepest Irish free diver in history, is targeting is the AIDA Bassam Arabian Freediving Depth Championship in September.

McGowan, originally hailing from Mullingar, has been locked down in the small town of Dahab since the beginning of the Covid crisis.

Described as "a free diver's paradise", Dave has been diving to depths of a 20-storey building, in Dahab in Egypt.

But he needs Irish supporters to get behind him and help fund his next-level success.

It's no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted athletes the world-over. Practically every event from local level all the way up to the Olympics have been postponed or cancelled.

For Dave there has been little to do but train for the event scheduled to be held in Dahab from 17-23 of September 2020.

At the end of May 2020 McGowan smashed the Irish record, in the new Bi-fins discipline, with an incredible dive of 71m on one breath.

The bi-fins category was introduced in 2019 and in order to set an Irish record, McGowan needed to reach a depth of 61m. While the record breaking dive was out of competition, McGowan plans to consolidate his efforts and make it an official Irish Record as soon as possible when competitions can be rescheduled in the near future.

The new depth record would be the first Irish male depth record to be set in five years. It would also make McGowan the deepest Irish free diver in active competition. McGowans new depth is only 10 meters away from the all-time Irish depth record, held in the Monofin Discipline.

These records are in close reach of McGowan but every meter increase in depth needs to be taken gradually to allow the body to adapt to the immense pressure experienced at these depths. McGowan hopes to continue progressing safely with his training and to be in a position to challenge these other records early next year.

The athlete hopes not only to attend but to make history by being part of the first complete Irish team at such an event.

McGowan is open for communication with any potential sponsors to help with his future record attempts and has also set up a GoFundMe for anyone that wishes to help contribute to the costs of his training, equipment and competition fees.

For more visit; https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mcgowan-break-the-irish-freediving-record.

Follow McGowan on social media – ‘Dave McGowan Freediver’ or @davemacgoo , davemcgowanfreediver.com, dave_irish@live.com