Loïc Leferme

Though the French former world record-holding freediver Loïc Leferme was renowned for his safe approach, it was a series of mechanical failures that led to his death by drowning at the age of 36. He was on the underwater sled that he used for deep breath-hold diving in the Mediterranean off Villefranche-sur-Mer, near Nice, but failed to return to the surface. After seeing his record broken, he had been in training to regain it.

Born at Dunkerque, the son of swimming champion Marc Leferme, Loïc was immersed early in the swimming pool his father managed. When he was 12, the family moved to a mountain village above the Mediterranean coast, and he soon discovered a passion for rock climbing and hiking as well.

In 1990 he entered the sports faculty at Nice University, where he met Claude Chapuis, Olivier Heuleu and Marc Counil - devotees of the fledgling sport of apnea, or freediving, celebrated in the film The Big Blue (1988). Between them, the core committee of the Association Internationale pour le Development de l'Apnée (or Aida ) and Loïc's companions began to define how freediving should be categorised, judged and conducted safely.

Loïc's favoured discipline was that of "no-limits", which enables freedivers to reach the greatest depths. This is performed by descending on a weighted sled to a pre-determined depth, with an ascent to the surface by inflated air balloon. His technique was to dive often and with gradual increments, because "you need to be accepted by the elements - it's the only way to dive deep".

In 1999, Cuban Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras relinquished his world depth record of 133 metres when Loïc managed to make it 137. The following year, he coached both the women's and men's French teams to victory in the Aida world cup at Nice. He achieved a 152-metre no-limits world record the same year. In 2001 he extended this to 154m, then 162m in 2002, and finally his deepest world record of 171m in 2004. Last year, the Austrian Herbert Nitsch went to 186m, and Loïc had been intent on making a still deeper attempt this July.

I was fortunate enough to meet Loïc in Limassol, Cyprus, at my first Aida freediving competition. He was not competing, but helped by spending hours each day assisting those who failed in their performances.

Despite the best efforts of my coach, I was extremely nervous as I lined up on the rope, but a smile from Loïc was all it took to instil a sense of calm. His generosity was not exclusive to this event; at other competitions I attended, Loïc was part of the voluntary safety team. He always preferred to encourage and support, rather than parade his own abilities.

One of the skills involved lies in mastering ear equalisations. As the freediver descends, pressure increases, with the same effect on the eardrum as in flying, but much more quickly. To counteract this it is necessary to force air through the throat into the middle ear chamber, and match the pressure with that of the water. In 2004 freediver Peter Scott interviewed Loïc, and asked him what it felt like on a no-limits sled dive: "I concentrate on the equalisations, my eyes are closed, my mask is full of water, and I find myself on the way down by the changes in pressure. I am squeezed, crushed, but I enjoy it; it no longer hurts me now. I hear the noise of the sled sliding down the line. It gets colder and then all dark." When asked about his thoughts and emotions, Loïc replied simply, "How can one explain these personal sensations?"

Loïc is survived by his wife Valérie, and their children Inès and Noé.

· Loïc Leferme, freediver, born August 28 1970; died April 11 2007

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