Breathe in and brave your deepest fears

Take a plunge into the daredevil sport of freediving

How deep can a person dive underwater without any breathing equipment? As one of the world's top female freedivers, China's Xu Tongtong's answer is "beyond the limit".

Freediving, which originated in the Mediterranean region, is gaining popularity across the world.

Divers rely only on their lung capacity to plunge as far as they can — either in open water in so-called "depth" events or in the swimming pool, simply called "pool" events.

This year, the 35-year-old Xu has successfully dived 100 meters underwater in both constant weight (CWT) and constant weight bifin (CWTB) contests, becoming only the third female freediver on the planet to reach this depth.

"When I dived 100 meters and grabbed the depth tag, I knew I had done it. I swam back to the surface with a smile," Xu joyfully recalled of her historic feat.

Hailing from East China's Anhui province, Xu transitioned from swimming to freediving in 2014. "I was able to enter the three-dimensional world from a two-dimensional space. That is why I fell in love with freediving," she told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.

"The biggest attraction of freediving lies in facing up to and overcoming our fears. The training is a process of constantly knowing oneself," said Xu, adding that darkness and the unknown are the main sources of fear for most people, while freediving can help overcome fear through science-based training. "Now my fears are gone; there is nothing to be afraid of anymore," she said.

After three months of training and competing this year in Panglao, an island town in the central Philippines province of Bohol, Xu decided to stay on the island to continue her training and coaching, a major source of income for this world-class freediver.

Panglao, just an hour's drive from the well-known tourist attraction Chocolate Hills, has developed into a major freediving hub due to its favorable sea conditions and pleasant tropical weather.