Featured in an Arte documentary, freediver Jacques Mayol has left his mark on the sport. With his extraordinary physiology and almost mystical approach, he became the first man to free dive to a depth of 100 metres.
The term “April fool” fits him perfectly. Born on 1 April 1927 in Shanghai, China, little Jacques Mayol spent his summers with his family in Japan. From an early age, the child played in the water and was fascinated by the sea. He was fascinated by the “amas”, or women of the sea in Japanese, who freed-fish for oysters and shellfish. At the age of 6, Jacques Mayol learned to dive and pursued this abyssal ambition throughout his life.
Born to be in the water
At the start of the Second World War, the teenager and his family moved to Marseille. It was an Eldorado for the young man who spent his time in the creeks. In 1948, Jacques Mayol, driven by his thirst for adventure, travelled the world. After visiting Morocco, Sweden, Denmark and Canada, he settled with his wife and two children in Miami, Florida.
While working at the city’s Seaquarium, he became close to the female dolphin Clown, with whom he formed a very powerful relationship. A bond that Jacques Mayol explains by the common characteristics between man and animal, in particular the ability to hold one’s breath to stay in the water. It was a revelation.
Jacques Mayol divorced his wife in 1957 and went off to live on his own, separated from his family.
The adventurer of all records
In 1961, the Italian Enzo Maiorca shook the freediving world by descending to a depth of just over 50 metres. It was both a sporting and scientific record, despite the fact that doctors and emergency doctors were convinced that his chest cavity would be crushed by the pressure.
Click here to read the full article on Luxus Magazine.
Front page photo: © “Jacques Mayol – The Dolphin Man”.
