Sara Campbell (BA 1995)
World Champion Freediver
Sara Campbell holds four world records and World Championship gold and silver medals in freediving, the sport of diving on a single breath, without scuba equipment. According to Sara 'freediving…demonstrates the potential for man and nature to be in total harmony together. It is a powerful statement of how, when man respects and surrenders to the power of nature, nature will, and does, look after us.'
Sara graduated in 1995 and, following a career in public relations, moved to Dahab, Egypt in 2005 to teach yoga. It was while she was there that a chance remark from one of her students, who observed that she seemed comfortable holding her breath during meditation, led to her taking a diving course. After only six weeks’ training, Sara was persuaded to apply to join the British freediving team for the 2006 World Championships. Despite contracting hepatitis a few days after putting in her application, Sara returned to diving after seven months’ recuperation.
With her first competition dive, just ten days after returning to the water, Sara made her first UK record, reaching 30 metres depth without the use of fins. At the Triple Depth Freediving Challenge in Egypt in October 2007, Sara went on to set three world records in under 48 hours, in the free immersion (81 metres), constant weight (90 metres) and no fins (56 metres) categories. Later that year Sara won a gold medal in the constant weight category at the 2007 AIDA Individual World Championship in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
On 2 April 2009 Sara reclaimed her world record in the constant weight category with a dive to 96 metres. Five days later she attempted to become the first woman to dive without breathing equipment to 100 metres. She reached the depth, but missed out on the record by blacking out on the surface after taking two breaths (the rules state that the diver must remain conscious for a minute after surfacing). Sara reattempted the dive in Dahab on 25 June and again suffered a blackout. Undeterred, she is now training to make another attempt on 100 metres.
Something had attracted me to Bristol from early on – I can’t say what, but I wasn’t disappointed. Interestingly, Bristol was my first confrontation with insecurity – suddenly I didn’t shine among my peers – I felt overshadowed by tall beautiful friends, and people sooo much cooler than myself! But, as with everyone, I found my niche of ‘uncool’ friends (apologies if any of them are reading this!!) and had some great times. I certainly wasn’t the most diligent and probably learned as much about life as I did Goethe or Machiavelli. Bristol was also the place where I found my love of exercise – never a team player at school, I immersed myself, perhaps not surprisingly in the pool, and also discovered a love for – and future career in – fitness and aerobics! I remember the town extremely fondly. In fact if I were to return to the UK I would seriously consider it as my next home.
Sara Campbell (BA 1995)