"I had the music in my head", says Arnaud Jérald after his record

Freediver Arnaud Jérald in Kalamata, Greece -

This record for great depths, the Marseille freediver Arnaud Jérald went to fetch it on September 15 in Greece, in Kalamata.

A descent to 112 meters in three minutes and 24 seconds, and here he is the world record holder in constant weight two-fin.

Back in France, he continues with pleasure the interviews.

And returns for

on his extraordinary rise.

How does it feel to be recognized as the new French freediving talent?

It is above all, for me, a recognition of the performance, the results compared to last year, when I broke the record in Egypt by descending to 108 meters.

I wanted to confirm a second time that the level was there.

I am happy to somehow take up the torch from Guillaume Nery, whom everyone knows in France, especially since he gives it to me with pleasure.

My goal is not to be known as the one who made records, but for the person that I am, the values ​​that I carry, the determination, the resilience with my difficult journey, respect and humility too.

What did you experience during this record in Kalamata?

It was the best dive of the season.

It's not because of the record, it could have been a 30-meter dive!

I had the music in my head, the certainty of being able to get to the bottom, it went easily.

I thought of the family, of my godson who had just been born, I had positive thoughts.

This record is really a step in my life more than in my career.

Last year, I passed records without much difficulty.

This year, we really felt that fate was fierce.

I cut my foot off the boat's propeller, there were two trials in Nice that were not recognized by the judge… I touched on a lot of jobs while setting up my own team.

I was a business manager, a project manager.

In the end, I liked not being just an athlete anymore.

Freediver Arnaud Jérald in Kalamata, Greece - Takuya Terajima

How did you discover apnea, you who are not from the Big Blue generation?

It's thanks to my father, who got married to the music of the Big Blue.

I discovered the sea when I was seven in the Calanques.

It is a little scary at first, this very phantasmagorical universe.

When I was 16, I discovered freediving, always with my father.

It was a moment in my life when I had a lot of difficulties, questions for the future.

I wanted to wake up later having no regrets about my life.

I knew I would do a passionate job.

I liked cooking, nature, but I had not found my passion.

With freediving, I was finally able to look at myself at the bottom.

There was a mirror effect.

Without dyslexia, do you think you wouldn't have become a freediver?

I could have, but I couldn't have performed so deeply.

It gave me great sensitivity, especially to noise.

I had my senses multiplied.

Underwater, we really need to feel everything that is going on in our body and our brain.

From a weakness, I made a strength.

When did you decide to make it your professional life?

I spent a lot of time at home in class imagining what I'm doing today.

But I made up my mind at the end of my BTS in electrical engineering.

It allowed me to overcome my demons linked to school, where I was told that I would not have my baccalaureate.

Electricity is not nothing, it is a delicate environment.

It was a victory that allowed me to switch to performance.

I started my first competitions in France, I became champion of France.

Today, what is your daily life?

I train almost every day.

Winter at the Cercle des nageurs in Marseille, with the team's physical trainer.

I also do physiotherapy to stretch the rib cage and the diaphragm.

I chose to train with hyperbaric doctors in Marseille who help me a lot on the medical side.

On the deep end, I go to Villefranche-sur-Mer, Nice or Turkey.

I like diving in Marseille but you have to go to the island of Planier to reach the depths.

The slightest medical intervention requires a helicopter to come, unlike Villefranche where, 50 meters from the edge, there is 100 meters of depth.

What's your next challenge?

The world record is great for me but I don't run after it.

I like to go to a place where no one has been before, to do something that no one has done yet.

Freediving is still a young, pioneering sport.

I would like to show an artistic, aesthetic face.

I'm working with a director on a video project in Tahiti, on one of the most dangerous waves in the world.

I have a lot of ideas.

I want to make a film without words, to make people understand what I lived at the age of 16.

When I was little, I really liked writing stories that happened underwater.

I brought an aquatic dimension to my French speeches, the teachers loved it.

I felt like I was Peter Pan.

Sport

Freediving: Marseille's Arnaud Jérald breaks the world record in twin fins at a depth of 112 meters

Sport

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• Marseilles

• World record

• Record

• Apnea

• Sport