Editing Jacques Mayol

{{Short description|French free diver (1927–2001)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name           =
| full_name      = 
| image          = File:Record mondial de poids constant - 62 m en 1989.png
| imagesize      = 
| caption        = Mayol (left) in 1989.
| nationality    = French
| sport          = [[Freediving]]
| event          = 
| club           = 
| birth_date     = {{birth date |1927|4|1|df=yes}}
| birth_place    = [[Shanghai]], [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]]
| death_date     = {{Death date and age|2001|12|22|1927|4|1|df=yes}}
| death_place    = [[Capoliveri]], Italy
| coach          = 
| height         = 
| weight         = 
| pb             = 
| medaltemplates=
}}
'''Jacques Mayol''' (1 April 1927 – 22 December 2001) was a French diver and the holder of many world records in [[free diving]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1726694.stm|title=Diving legend commits suicide|date=24 December 2001|publisher=BBC News|access-date=7 May 2010|archive-date=14 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214154221/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1726694.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> The 1988 film ''[[The Big Blue]]'', directed by [[Luc Besson]], was inspired by his life story and that of his friend, [[Enzo Maiorca]]. Mayol was one of the screenwriters and authored the book ''Homo Delphinus: the Dolphin Within Man'' of his philosophy about the [[Aquatic ape hypothesis|aquatic origins of humans]].

==Early life==
Jacques Mayol was a French national born in [[Shanghai]], China. Mayol spent his summer holidays in [[Karatsu, Saga|Karatsu]] (Japan) every year as a child. When he was 7, he would skin dive with his older brother in seas around {{ill|Nanatsugama|jp|屋形石の七ツ釜}} ([[Karatsu, Saga|Karatsu]], Japan), where he saw a dolphin for the first time. Mayol described the fateful encounter in his book, "Homo Delphinus: The Dolphin Within Man".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ota|first1=Tomoo|title=Nanatsugama caves were origin of a diving legend|publisher=The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun|date=22 November 2017}}</ref>

==Career==
On 23 November 1976, at 49, he became the first free diver to descend to {{convert|100|m|ft}},<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://es.education.nationalgeographic.com/thisday/nov23/free-diver-reaches-depth-100-meters/ |title=Free-Diver Reaches Depth of 100 Meters |date=17 December 2013 |publisher=National Geographic Society |language=en |access-date=21 November 2019 |archive-date=20 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020041118/https://education.nationalgeographic.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Pushing the boundaries of human achievement |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20191010-pushing-the-boundaries-of-human-achievement |website=France 24 |date=10 October 2019 |access-date=22 November 2021 |archive-date=22 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122191653/https://www.france24.com/en/20191010-pushing-the-boundaries-of-human-achievement |url-status=live }}</ref> and when he was 56 he managed to descend to {{convert|105|m|ft}}. During the scientific research phase of his career, Mayol tried to answer the question of whether man had a hidden aquatic potential that could be evoked by rigorous physiological and psychological training.

Mayol's lifelong passion for diving was based on his love for the ocean, his personal philosophy, and his desire to explore his own limits. During his lifetime, he helped introduce the then-elitist sport of free-diving into the mainstream. His diving philosophy was to reach a state of mind based on relaxation and [[Pranayama|yoga breathing]], with which he could accomplish [[apnea]].<ref name="apnea">{{cite web |url=http://www.apnea.nl/UK-Index.htm |title=The History of Freediving |website=Apneal.nl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211133108/http://www.apnea.nl/UK-Index.htm |archive-date=11 February 2012 |access-date=20 November 2019}}</ref> He also contributed to technological advances in the field of free-diving, particularly improving assemblies used by [[free diving|no-limits]] divers. He was also instrumental in the development of [[scuba diving]]'s [[Diving regulator#Secondary demand valve .28Octopus.29|octopus regulator]], which was invented by Dave Woodward at UNEXSO in 1965 or 1966. Woodward believed that having safety divers carry two second stages would be a safer and more practical approach than [[buddy breathing]] in the event of an emergency.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.internationallegendsofdiving.com/FeaturedLegends/woodward_bio.htm |title=Dave Woodward |website=International Legends of Diving |access-date=20 November 2019 |archive-date=7 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107041103/http://www.internationallegendsofdiving.com/FeaturedLegends/woodward_bio.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Mayol was already an experienced [[free diving|free diver]] when he met the Sicilian [[Enzo Maiorca]], who was the first person to dive below {{convert|50|m|ft}}. Mayol reached {{convert|60|m|ft}} depth.<ref name="thejacquesmayol">{{cite web |url=http://www.thejacquesmayol.com/JacquesMayol.htm |title= Jacques Mayol |access-date=20 November 2019 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080329160725/http://www.thejacquesmayol.com/JacquesMayol.htm |archive-date=29 March 2008 }}</ref> A friendship, as well as rivalry, between the two men ensued. Their most famous records were set in the no-limits category, in which divers are permitted to use weighted sleds to descend and air balloons for a speedy ascent. Between 1966 and 1983, Mayol was the no-limits world champion eight times. In 1981 he set a world record of {{convert|61|m|ft}} in the constant weight discipline, using fins. In 1976, Mayol broke the {{convert|100|m|ft}} barrier with a no-limits {{convert|101|m|ft}} dive off Elba, Italy.<ref name="thejacquesmayol"/> Tests showed that during this dive his [[Cardiac cycle|heart beat]] decreased from 60 to 27 beats/min, an aspect of the [[mammalian diving reflex]], a [[reflex]] more evident in [[whales]], [[Pinniped|seals]], and [[dolphins]]. Mayol's last deep dive followed in 1983 when he reached the depth of {{convert|105|m|ft}}, at the age of 56.<ref name="thejacquesmayol"/>

== Dolphins ==
Mayol's fascination with [[dolphin]]s started in 1955 when he was working as a commercial diver at an aquarium in [[Miami]], Florida.<ref name="thejacquesmayol"/> There he met a female dolphin called Clown and formed a close bond with her. Imitating Clown, he learned how to hold his breath longer and how to behave and integrate himself underwater. It is the dolphins that became the foundation of Mayol's life philosophy of "Homo Delphinus".<ref name="apnea"/>

Throughout his book ''L'Homo Delphinus''<ref name="apnea"/> (2000 published in English as ''Homo Delphinus: The Dolphin within Man'' by Idelson Gnocchi Publishers Ltd.) Mayol expounds his theories about man's relationship with the sea, and explores the [[aquatic ape hypothesis]] of human origins. He felt man could reawaken his dormant mental and spiritual faculties and the physiological mechanisms from the depths of his psyche and genetic make-up to develop the potential of his aquatic origins, to become a ''Homo delphinus''.

Jacques Mayol predicted that within a couple of generations, some people would be able to dive to {{convert|300|m|ft}} and hold their breath for up to ten minutes. Today the no-limits record stands at 253 m ([[Herbert Nitsch]], June 2012). Serbian Branko Petrović holds the record for [[Static Apnea]] at 11 minutes and 54 seconds (October 2014).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.deeperblue.com/new-guinness-world-record-serbian-freediver-branko-petrovic/ |title=New Guinness World Record for Serbian Freediver Branko Petrovic |first=Stephan |last=Whelan |date=12 October 2014 |access-date=20 November 2019 |archive-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622005009/https://www.deeperblue.com/new-guinness-world-record-serbian-freediver-branko-petrovic/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Croatian Budimir Šobat holds the record for static apnea on pure oxygen at 24 minutes 37 second (27 March 2021).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2021/5/freediver-holds-breath-for-almost-25-minutes-breaking-record-660285 |title=56-year-old freediver holds breath for almost 25 minutes breaking record |website=Guiness world records }}</ref>

==Film==
The film ''[[The Big Blue]]'', directed by [[Luc Besson]] in 1988, was inspired by his life story and the life story of the Italian diver [[Enzo Maiorca]] and their friendship. Mayol was one of the [[screenwriter]]s.

Mayol was the subject of the 2017 documentary film ''[[Dolphin Man]] (L'Homme dauphin, sur les traces de Jacques Mayol)'', directed by [[Lefteris Charitos]].<ref>[https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2018/08/23/entertainment/one-with-the-ocean-documentary-on-jacques-mayol-to-screen-for-freediving-competition/ "One with the ocean: Documentary on Jacques Mayol to screen alongside freediving competition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706180813/https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2018/08/23/entertainment/one-with-the-ocean-documentary-on-jacques-mayol-to-screen-for-freediving-competition/ |date=6 July 2019 }}. ''[[West Hawaii Today]]'', 23 August 2018.</ref>

==Death==
On 22 December 2001 Mayol committed suicide by hanging himself at his villa in [[Elba]], [[Italy]] after struggling with depression.<ref name="BBC"/> He was 74 years old. His ashes were spread over the [[Tuscany]] coast.<ref name=BBC/> Friends have erected a monument to him in the sea southeast of Elba at {{convert|16|m|ft}} depth.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131206130900/http://www.aida-international.org/aspportal1/code/page.asp?sType=wr&CountryID=4&actID=3&ObjectID=136 Current Freediving World Records]}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050211074322/http://www.hds.org/mayol.html Profile from Historical Diving Association website]
* [https://divernet.com/scuba-news/jacques-mayol/ Article from divernet.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203174527/https://divernet.com/scuba-news/jacques-mayol/ |date=3 December 2023 }}
* [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jacques-mayol-729650.html Obituary from ''The Independent''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926232027/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jacques-mayol-729650.html |date=26 September 2011 }}
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.lemonde.fr/article/0,5987,3230--255975-,00.html Article by Le Monde]{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*{{IMDb title | 0095250 | title = Le grand bleu (1988) }}
*{{IMDb title | 7718144 | title = Dolphin Man (2017)   }}

{{Underwater diving|frediv}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayol, Jacques}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2001 suicides]]
[[Category:French freedivers]]
[[Category:Suicides by hanging in Italy]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]