One of Ireland’s top free divers is appealing for public support to step up to the next level of competition.
Dave McGowan has been living and training in Dahab, Egypt since the start of the coronavirus crisis, and has made the most of his time to improve his dive distance to over 70 metres on a single breath — smashing the Irish record in the new bi-fins category.
It’s been a big boost of confidence for the Mullingar native who was unable to compete at last year’s Depth World Championships in the south of France due to a lack of funding.
Ireland was represented at that event by Claire Walsh, the first Irish woman to compete at that level and a record-breaker in her own right.
McGowan hopes to gradually improve his remarkable resuilys over the next few months, allowing his body to adjust to the immense pressures, in order to take on the all-time Irish depth record and confirm him as the deepest Irish free diver in active competition.
And he hopes to make his mark in local contests along the way, with the free diving season kicking off next month at the AIDA Bassam Arabian Freediving Depth Championship.
“I’m delighted with how my training has been going so far this year; however, my training and competition plans for the rest of 2020 and into 2021 are uncertain right now in the wake of the coronavirus crisis,” says McGowan.
“But it is hoped that by autumn 2021 it will be a distant memory and the next AIDA Depth World Championships can go ahead. It will be an incredible honour to represent Ireland at this event and even more to do so as part of a team.”
McGowan is looking to connect 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.
