Waterford City native and freediver Kathleen (Kathy) Macdonald is celebrating an impressive 10 Irish national records in just 18 months.
She now ranks Number One in Ireland for both pool and depth, and can hold her breath for six minutes and 12 seconds.
Freediving is a method of underwater diving in which the diver does not use breathing apparatus. It means the athletes must hold their breath until returning to the surface. It's an international competitive sport.
How Kathy discovered freediving
Kathy discovered her talent for freediving in the middle of the pandemic and since then she has been training and competing at an international level. She says the sport has done wonders for her mental health. "I think I was always searching for something but I never knew what it was", she said.
Speaking of her personal best of six minutes and 12 seconds Kathy says, “Those extra seconds after the six minutes really matter. I jumped from two minutes to three minutes, to four and a half, and to five and a half in some months, but it is only after you reach the 6th minute you are really pushing your body and mind to its limits"
Kathy describes freediving, which some consider an extreme sport, as more like "mindfulness," adding that "you have emptied your mind of any thoughts, lowered your heart rate to adapt underwater and trusted your body to allow you to go to depths where you wouldn't normally think it's possible to go to.”
Competing in international freediving competitions
When restrictions were lifted Kathy flew to Greece, where she had previously trained, and where she could spend time with her mother. On the second trip she entered two freediving depth competitions in Kalamata. Here, she picked up the first seven records and dove to an official depth of 51 metres (over 150 feet).
Kathy has three more pool records, which she won when she flew back to Greece again last week to take part in AIDA winter pool games hosted by OneBreath Freediving.
Despite having to return to Ireland due to work commitments, Kathy continues to train at a gym in Dublin. She hopes that freediving will become more accessible and popular in Ireland.
In 2022 she will be entering The Big Blue competition in September in Greece, and is also planning to compete in Vertical Blue which is held in annually in the Bahamas. You can follow Kathy’s Freediving journey on social media @huntertravel.
More here on the latest Waterford sport.
