Cuban free-diver legend Francisco Pipin Ferreras aims to impose a world record of free-diving in Boca Chica, alongside a Dominican multidisciplinary medical team.
Ferreras announced the milestone during the presentation of “Art of Breathing: The Science of Immersion, the Power of the Mind and the Potential of the Human Body,” held at the Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE), in Santo Domingo.
“We breathe every day because it is free, but very few understand the importance of learning to breathe properly for our lives,” said the athlete in the auditorium with the presence of diving enthusiasts, students, representatives of the press, and the general public.
The Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Diaz, opened the meeting and said that Pipin Ferrera’s attempt of a new free-diving world record contributes to the strengthening of the country’s positioning as a destination.
Dominican filmmaker Jorge Hazoury will document the attempt of Pipin Ferreras to descend to a depth between 151 and 200 meters on a single breath.
Moreover, James Cameron is expected to participate as well as one major U.S. television network.
The last record by Ferreras in the category of free diving happened in 2003, when he submerged 171 meters on a single breath, to commemorate his late wife, Audrey Mestre.
Medical team
A multidisciplinary team of doctors and specialists led by Dr. Alejandro Cambiaso will perform a general evaluation to identify risk factors and provide recommendations to the athlete.
The check-ups are scheduled to be at the Preventive Health Unit of the Plaza de la Salud General Hospital.
Dr. Cambiaso’s team of scientists will be at Boca Chica with Pipin Ferreras on December 8th to obtain telemetries while he descends. The next day, the diver will try to set the new world record.
The physicians will record data of Ferrera’s vital parameters, frequency and heart rate, a saturation of oxygen, temperature, among other metrics.
Dr. Alejandro Cambiaso is one of the pioneers of preventive medicine within the Caribbean and president and founder of the Dominican Republic Health Tourism Association.
Who is Francisco Pipin Ferreras
‘Pipin’ Ferreras, born in Matanzas, Cuba, is a world champion of apnea and recognized as the “Living Legend of Submarine Abysses” for having set 21 world records in his more than 30 years of career.
He got his first freediving record on November 16th, 1989, after reaching 112 meters.
Furthermore, that goal made him the successor of Enzo Maiorca y Jacques Mayol, who rivaled during the 1960s and 1970s.
“My greatest pride will be to fulfill the ideal of one of the greatest figures of apneism, Jacques Mayol, who once said that future generations would be able to reach depths of 200 meters, and I hope to retire with this satisfaction.”
Diving Almanac listed Pipin Ferreras accomplishments as follows:
- Began free-diving at age 5
- Competitive freediver
- CEO and Founder at Persistent
- Multiple world record holder, including a No Limit dive to 170m (558 ft) in 2003
- CEO & Founder at Camm Productions
- 2001 IMAX production Ocean Men: Extreme Dive
- Founded the International Association of Freedivers (IAFD) in 1996 (closed in 2004)
- Divided several free-diving records with his late wife, Audrey Mestre
- Author of The Dive, an international bestseller
- A.k.a King of the Deep
The extreme athlete is also a producer, writer, independent director, and has performed several TV specials about the submarine world.