THIS ONE MOMENT - European Underwater Hockey Championship

Two weeks ago I went to the european underwater hockey championship.

It was an awesome experience and there‘s THIS ONE MOMENT that stucks in my mind.

It was during the first game against Team Austria.

I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with as much air as possible. When the referee blew the whistle I dove down and swam as fast as I could. I wasn‘t the first to hit the puck.

But I tried with all my strength to stop my opponent from pushing the puck into the goal. That was a weird situation and I almost had to laugh. Because I knew I didn't have a chance. (Chris - thanks for this battle)

Right in that moment when he finally pushed the puck into the goal I realized that I need some air. It was THAT MOMENT when I realized there‘s only one way out - only one way to get this much needed air!

Imagine yourself in a frozen lake. under a 20-30cm layer of ice. Bad visibility (0.5m) and you‘re running low on air.

What would you do? Think? Feel? Panic?

I stayed perfectly calm, I wasn‘t stressed at all. I couldn‘t see the hole - the only way out. But I knew in which direction I had to swim, I was not disoriented. I kicked with my fins and let me glide over/under the ice. Even if I felt like I need air, I felt free and relaxed.

I made my way to the hole and when I surfaced I took some deep breaths with a big smile.

Now I‘m wondering... how could I stay calm in THIS MOMENT... when in daily life I am easily stressed out because of little things, let myself get carried away and not believe in myself?

Freediving can teach you life lessons.

Photos by Gabor Boja