"I want to go down to a depth of 100 meters using only my lungs."

BarcelonaEverything changes around Isabel Sánchez-Arán when she descends to the bottom of the sea. The lights, the temperature, and the pressure. "When you go down, you're always afraid; it's a mechanism we have to stay alive," she explains. But she can't stop herself from going deeper and deeper using only the strength of her lungs, without an oxygen bubble. These days, Isabel will try to be one of the first women to break the 100-meter barrier in apnea. That is, 100 meters while holding her breath.

Born in Elche but a resident of l'Estartit for years, Isabel is already in Mytikas, a town in western Greece, to participate in the Freediving World Championships. The swimmer from the La Caretta Apnea Club of l'Estartit is competing representing the Spanish national team in an event that brings together more than 120 athletes from 30 countries. Isabel, who trains year-round in the Medes Islands, spent a few days in Kalamata to finalize her preparations with her national teammate Fran Quesada and the Federation's technical delegate, Natalie Cabanas. Kalamata is a special place for Sánchez-Arán, as it was there that she fell in love with the discipline. "It was in Cyprus and Greece where I discovered freediving and trained. The sea in Greece is wonderful; you could say the Mediterranean is my homeland. I feel an incredible connection with that place. Kalamata is where I trained as a freediving instructor. There, the water is flat, not the water is flat. We call it that." brave There's a reason. Here we have currents, wind, and waves. I like being able to live in Estartit and train here, since training in this sea makes me stronger. "In Kalamata, it's like a natural pool," explains Isa, who at the 2024 World Championships reached 90 meters deep in the constant-weight descent event with fins. Now she wants to reach 100 meters.

Last year, Isabel made history by winning a bronze medal at the World Championships, and this year she'll once again compete in all the events at the championships. "My goal is to enjoy every dive, give my best, and show that freediving is much more than a sport: it's a way to connect with yourself and the sea. Reaching 100 meters would be a dream come true," she explains. Isabel says that she has found happiness in the sea. "I've always loved the sea. When I was young and started studying, I saved up to travel. And I started doing outdoor sports when I traveled. Then I worked as a Spanish teacher in French Guiana, and while I was there, we went on vacation to Trinidad and Tobago, where a girl convinced us to join the dance. It was a great time, being able to spend so much time underwater. I took the courses and ended up working as a scuba diving instructor in Cyprus," she explains. In Cyprus, she was told that it would be a good idea to have some basic freediving skills for her job. And so she entered a world she could never escape.

This year, Isabel wants to repeat her podium finish and surpass the 100-meter barrier. Improving ten meters in a year is a huge leap, a real challenge. "If I don't achieve it this year, we'll try again later," she says. When she goes down to the bottom of the sea, despite that fear she always has inside her body, she's happy. So she won't stop doing it.