TUNIS: Tunisian freediver Walid Boudhiaf, the Arab world’s only international champion in the sport and a one-time world record holder at 150 meters, is eyeing new achievements and hopes to expand the sport in his home country, where “thousands practice it without even realizing.”
During a recent visit to Tunisia, the 46-year-old, who spends half the year in Colombia and the other half training in the Bahamas, shared his remarkable journey with AFP.
Though he grew up in Tunisia, where he spent most of his summers by the sea, Boudhiaf didn’t discover freediving until later.
His father, a Tunisian university professor, and French doctor mother were both “sea lovers” and taught him to swim at the age of three, later introducing him to spearfishing.
By his mid-20s, freediving came to him a continent away and nowhere near the sea — “by chance in a pool in Bogota,” the Colombian capital that sits over a thousand kilometers (620 miles) from the Pacific Ocean.
Boudhiaf initially took up underwater rugby, which, he said, proved “not aggressive enough.”
His coach had then noticed his ability to control his breath, which years later would help him achieve a personal record of seven minutes 38 seconds.
Boudhiaf said living in Bogota at 2,600 meters above sea level has also helped develop “excellent cardiovascular conditions” by stimulating red blood cell production due to the low oxygen levels.
He then began training up to six hours a day, he said, while balancing a job as a computer engineer.
“I stopped going out,” he recalls. “All I did was train.”
Boudhiaf entered his first competition in Marseille in 2007, but it wasn’t until 2012 that he was able to fully dedicate himself to freediving, following a “last job in the Canary Islands, where I went to be closer to the sea.”
Today, thanks to sponsorship from Tunisian companies, he can finally make a living from his passion and also organizes workshops and conferences based around the sport.
In Egypt in 2021, he gained international renown when he set a world record at 150 meters in the variable weight category, which requires using a pulling rope on the way down and fins to go back up.
He said he was inspired by Luc Besson’s 1988 film “The Big Blue” that put freediving on the map, and the achievements of legendary diver Umberto Pelizzari.
“It was a dream that I had since I watched ‘The Big Blue’ and saw Umberto Pelizzari’s records,” he said. “One hundred fifty meters is a symbolic frontier, a testament to human potential.”
Boudhiaf was also crowned world champion in 2022, diving to 116 meters in free immersion apnea timed at three minutes 54 seconds.
After collecting several medals at the Deep Blue competition in Dominica this past April — one gold, two silver, and one bronze — he has been training for the 2025 Vertical Blue, an elite freediving competition held in the Bahamas, which he calls “the Wimbledon of freediving.”
He is hoping to beat the constant weight record of 136 meters, currently held by Russia’s Alexey Molchanov, who broke Boudhiaf’s variable weight record with a depth of 156 meters in March 2023.
Beyond competing and pursuing records, which “have ups and downs and challenges to maintaining peak performance,” another focus of Boudhiaf’s is growing the sport in Tunisia.
“Many Tunisians are already practicing it without knowing it, through amateur spearfishing, which is a form of freediving,” he said, referring to Tunisia’s long-standing traditions of sponge diving and coral collecting.
Additionally, interest in pool-based freediving is growing, he added, especially at the Rades Olympic Complex near Tunis.
“I’m motivated to provide more support,” Boudhiaf said, adding that the sport required little resources and equipment and that it “isn’t a sport for the wealthy.”
While Egypt, Greece or Turkiye are better for competition-oriented training with “very deep spots close to the shore” in the Mediterranean, according to Boudhiaf, Tunisia is still suitable for “recreational freediving.”
“You don’t need to dive 100 meters,” he said. “At 20, 30, or 50 meters, beginners can improve and even reach an advanced level.”
Freediving is also “the most natural way to observe and interact with marine life,” he added.
Breathing techniques also promote good health, he said, because the exercises can help manage stress.
Tunisian freediver Walid Boudhiaf eyes records and developing the sport
https://arab.news/p9puj
Tunisian freediver Walid Boudhiaf eyes records and developing the sport
- Though he grew up in Tunisia, where he spent most of his summers by the sea, Boudhiaf didn’t discover freediving until later
- His father, a Tunisian university professor, and French doctor mother were both “sea lovers” and taught him to swim at the age of three, later introducing him to spearfishing
Luis Enrique resting key players in Ligue 1 as PSG chase treble
“We have a set plan which depends on playing time and traveling throughout the season,” Enrique said
PARIS: Several key Paris St. Germain players will be rested as the French champions look to ensure they remain fresh for their two finals coming up, including the Champions League showpiece, as they chase a treble, manager Luis Enrique said on Friday.
PSG sealed the league title with six games to spare last month and will now target the Coupe de France final on May 24 against Stade de Reims before they chase a first Champions League crown versus Inter Milan a week later.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, Willian Pacho, Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha have been given time off and will not return to training until Wednesday.
“We have a set plan which depends on playing time and traveling throughout the season. You have to balance all that out to arrive in the best possible condition for both finals,” Luis Enrique said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Montpellier.
“When the Champions League final is over, the vast majority will go to the national team. Every player needs a personalized plan. We’ve managed that, but there are still the final matches to achieve our objectives.
“The players need to arrive mentally fresh ... We’re playing against Montpellier and Auxerre (next weekend), which will help us stick to our plan. There are a lot of players and we’re managing it individually.”
Luis Enrique said Ousmane Dembele is fully fit after the club’s top scorer with 33 goals this season only came on as a second-half substitute in Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal victory over Arsenal.
“Ousmane Dembele is perfectly fine. He trained with the team today, he wanted to come,” the Spaniard said.
“He had permission from the staff not to come, it’s what we considered adequate rest time. But if he needs to come, he’s completely free to do so.”
PSG will be playing in their second Champions League final after losing to Bayern Munich in 2020 and Luis Enrique said the French club deserve to win the title after such a long wait.
“If a team deserves to win, after waiting so long, it’s PSG. I know the club was founded the year I was born (in 1970). Let’s hope this connection proves true and we can secure the Champions League,” he said.
“The problem is that there will definitely be one team that won’t succeed ... but I hope we win.”
Pakistan moves T20 league, India’s IPL awaits government advice
- IPL organizers have said they are awaiting government advice before determining the fate of the remainder of the hugely popular Twenty20 tournament
NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) will move its remaining matches to the United Arab Emirates in the wake of Pakistan’s ongoing conflict with India, the country’s cricket board chief Mohsin Naqvi said on Friday.
Thursday’s PSL match in Rawalpindi was postponed amid escalating hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors, and Naqvi said the decision to move the last eight games was made to ensure players avoid “possible reckless targeting.”
Across the border, India’s cricket board is considering suspending the Indian Premier League (IPL) amid the rising tensions, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
IPL organizers have said they are awaiting government advice before determining the fate of the remainder of the hugely popular Twenty20 tournament.
“The PCB has always stood by the position that politics and sports need to be kept apart,” Naqvi, also Pakistan’s interior minister, said in a statement.
“As a responsible organization that has overcome adversities repeatedly and ensured that the game of cricket flourishes, it was important for us to ensure the mental well-being of all players participating in the PSL.”
India’s cricket board (BCCI) has moved Sunday’s IPL match in Dharamsala near the Pakistan border to Ahmedabad in the west. A match at the same venue in the northern city was abandoned midway due to what officials said was a power failure.
Vice president Rajeev Shukla said they were waiting for government advice on Friday.
“The situation is changing day by day,” Shukla told the Indian Express newspaper.
“We will do whatever we are told and inform all stakeholders. At the moment, our priority is the safety of all players, fans and other stakeholders.”
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had told Reuters on Thursday that the IPL’s foreign players were “comfortable” to continue playing. He did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
The two countries have been clashing since India struck multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday that it said were “terrorist camps” in retaliation for a deadly attack in its restive region of Kashmir last month, in which it said Islamabad was involved.
Pakistan denied the accusation but both countries have exchanged cross-border firing and shelling and sent drones and missiles into each other’s airspace since then, with nearly four dozen people dying in the violence.
Stephen Curry says he knows patience will be required when dealing with hamstring injury
- Stephen Curry sat down after the Golden State Warriors went through their gameday shootaround practice in Minneapolis and quickly announced that he’s feeling great
- Curry is going to be a postseason spectator for at least a few games, his Grade 1 hamstring strain bad enough that it took him out of most of Game 1 of the Warriors’ Western Conference semifinal
Stephen Curry sat down after the Golden State Warriors went through their shootaround practice in Minneapolis on Thursday, quickly announcing that he’s feeling great.
He was not telling the truth.
“Sarcasm,” the four-time NBA champion with the Warriors quickly clarified, just in case anyone missed the joke.
Curry is going to be a postseason spectator for at least a few games, his Grade 1 hamstring strain bad enough that it forced him out in the second quarter of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal series at Minnesota on Tuesday night. He missed the lopsided Game 2 loss to the Timberwolves on Thursday night that evened the series and will likely be sidelined for at least Games 3 and 4 in San Francisco, too.
Curry — who is with the team but isn’t allowed to do anything basketball-related yet, even stationary shooting — isn’t exactly sure how or why the injury happened. He’s never had any hamstring issue of significance before.
“It’s hard to really predict this stuff is what I’m learning,” Curry said. “There were no, like, warning signs or any weird feelings. I felt great the whole game up until that point. And then I made a little pivot move on defense and felt something.”
Curry thought he would be able to return to Game 1, then quickly realized that wasn’t the case. Playing with the strain could have made the issue far worse, Curry said. Hamstrings, he’s quickly learning, need time no matter what sort of rehabilitation program he partakes in.
“Obviously, a tough break,” Curry said. “Hopefully, I’ll be back soon.”
Curry scored 13 points in 13 minutes of Game 1 before his exit, and Golden State went on to a 99-88 win. Buddy Hield, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green combined for 62 points for the Warriors, who held Minnesota to a 5-for-29 clunker on 3-point tries and limited the Timberwolves to 60 points through three quarters.
“We have a lot of confidence that we can still win the series and guys will step up no matter how it looks,” Curry said. “And it’s obviously a situation where you want to think positively and optimistically that we can win games and buy me some time to get back and hopefully have another series after this and be able to be in a position where I can get back out there safely, where I’m not putting too much risk on the body if it’s not ready.”
Curry, who is averaging a team-best 22 points in these playoffs, can still contribute in small ways even if he’s not playing.
“The guys obviously revere Steph, and they love his presence and that’ll matter to us tonight during the game,” coach Steve Kerr said in his pregame interview. “I’m sure he’ll be talking to the guys on the sidelines and giving some thoughts. He may come into our huddle and make a suggestion, which I always welcome, so it’s good to have him here for sure.”
At one point, when Green picked up his fifth technical foul of the playoffs, two short of an automatic one-game suspension, Curry was concerned enough about his pal getting ejected for a second technical that he went over to the scorer’s table to try to talk Green down and walk him back to the bench.
But not having Curry on the court clearly hurt.
“Everybody knows it’s difficult to recreate or even get close to doing what he does, but we’re going to have to find a way,” Butler said. “So we’ll go to the tapes, talk about it and execute it to the best of our abilities.”
Timberwolves overpower Warriors to level series
- Golden State coach Steve Kerr said his team had learned valuable lessons on how to play without the talismanic Curry
LOS ANGELES: The Minnesota Timberwolves exploited the injury absence of Stephen Curry to defeat the Golden State Warriors 117-93 and level their NBA Western Conference semifinal series on Thursday.
A fired-up Timberwolves line-up, who had been stunned by the Warriors in game one on Tuesday, were always in control as they powered to a wire-to-wire victory in Minneapolis that squares the series at 1-1.
Julius Randle led the scoring for Minnesota with 24 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds while Anthony Edwards finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker added an eye-catching 20 points off the bench, including four three-pointers, on a night when five Timberwolves players finished in double figures.
Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors scoring with 18 points from the bench, Jimmy Butler finishing with 17.
Edwards said an improved defensive effort led to Minnesota’s win after a dismal offensive display in their game one loss.
“We watched film yesterday and we saw it wasn’t just that we didn’t make our shots — it was more so our defensive effort and intensity. We didn’t bring it,” Edwards said.
“So we knew we had to bring it today.”
With Golden State taking to the floor without Curry, who suffered a hamstring injury in game one, Minnesota set the tone early in the first quarter, racing into a hefty 25-7 lead that left the Warriors chasing the game.
Minnesota were given a scare when Edwards limped off with an ankle problem in the second quarter, but the Timberwolves went into half-time with a commanding 56-39 lead.
Edwards returned for the start of the third quarter, but Minnesota were rocked by an early Golden State onslaught.
Butler and Kuminga both grabbed eight points apiece in a rally that helped the Warriors slash the Timberwolves’ lead to just seven points at 62-55 with just under seven minutes remaining in the third.
The Timberwolves regrouped impressively and closed the quarter with a 20-5 run to build an 85-65 lead heading into the final frame.
Without the deadly three-point scoring threat of Curry, the Warriors never looked like closing the gap and Golden State coach Steve Kerr ran up the white flag with four minutes remaining, removing his starters as Minnesota coasted home.
Kerr said his team had learned valuable lessons on how to play without the talismanic Curry as they return to San Francisco for game three on Saturday.
The 11-time All-Star Curry was ruled out for at least a week on Wednesday.
“We’re trying to figure out what we’re gonna be able to do in this series without Steph, so we gave a lot of people a lot of chances,” Kerr said of his shifting line-up.
“I thought we made a really spirited run to get the lead down to seven, but then we just kind of lost a little bit of composure. We turned it over a couple of times, gave up a couple of threes when we lost our defensive connection.
“But we learned a lot and I think this game will help us figure out how to move forward.”
Belal Muhammad confident vs. Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315
- Muhammad, a Chicago native, said Thursday that Della Maddalena will see a new version none of Muhammad’s previous opponents have seen before: “Canelo Hands.”
The UFC is back in Montreal for the first time in a decade on Saturday night with a pair of title fights, which includes welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and No. 5-ranked Australian challenger Jack Della Maddalena topping the 12-fight card for UFC 315.
Muhammad is making his first title defense after suffering an injury late last year. Muhammad upset former champion Leon Edwards last July in the main event of UFC 304 to usher in a new era at 170 pounds.
Muhammad, a Chicago native, said Thursday that Della Maddalena will see a new version none of Muhammad’s previous opponents have seen before: “Canelo Hands.”
“Jack goes down in three ,” Muhammad told reporters at the pre-fight presser.
UFC CEO Dana White confirmed Muhammad is in the mix for a potential super-fight against former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria or UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev if he were to be victorious. Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira also is in the conversation for a title shot, barring possible outcomes.
“That’s pretty accurate,” White said.
Della Maddalena didn’t take too kindly to Muhammad’s words, dismissing the notion that Muhammad won’t use his potent wrestling base to win the fight.
“That’s not gonna happen,” Della Maddalena said.
Della Maddalena hasn’t lost in nine years, compiling an unblemished UFC mark after earning a UFC contract by winning his Dana White Contender Series bout against Ange Loosa in September 2021.
The co-headliner sees Valentina Shevchenko begin her second stint as UFC flyweight champion against French native Manon Fiorot. Shevchenko exacted revenge last September against Alexa Grasso to regain the belt. Meanwhile, Fiorot looks to become the first Frenchwoman to win a UFC title and extend her promotional win streak to eight.
The rest of the card features a mix of former champions, veterans and top prospects.
The main card festivities get underway at 10 p.m. ET/5 a.m. KSA time.
Main card:
• Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena, welterweight — Muhammad’s UFC welterweight title
• Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot, flyweight — Shevchenko’s UFC flyweight title
• Jose Aldo vs. Aiemann Zahabi, bantamweight
• Alexa Grasso vs. Natalia Silva, flyweight
• Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Kyle Prepolec, lightweight
