Marcus Greatwood

Marcus Greatwood
Born	18 March 1973 (1973-03-18) (age 38) United Kingdom
Occupation	Free-diver, Freedive Coach, Lecturer

Marcus Greatwood (born 18 March 1973) is a British freediving coach. Although an international coach he is most noted for his inception and development of "NT Style" Freediving, based on relaxation and breathing techniques (1st published in 2008). Marcus has coached 5 world records with Herbert Nitsch including the 214m NoLimits record [1] set in 2007. Marcus designed and built the equalisation tool that allowed Herbert Nitsch to dive past 200m. He has coached many athletes, setting 12 National records in all of the AIDA recognised disciplines [2]. He has personally held several UK records in depth apnea free-diving disciplines recognized by AIDA International [3]. His Club Freediving (NoTanx) based in London is now the largest group of freedivers in the UK has grown exponentially since 2001 to having 5 weekly pool sessions with 80+ active members. All training is split into Yin and Yang, with an emphasis placed on Yin (soft, slow & internal).

International Coach

Marcus's first world record was as adjutant to Herbert Nitsch during the World Championships in Hurghada, Egypt,in December 2006, Herbert set the Constant Weight dive of 111 m, and also claimed the Static Apnea record of 9:04. In 2007 Herbert set the world record in Spetses, Greece [4] in June 2007 when he achieved 214 m (702 ft) in Spetses, Greece on a revolutionary sled. Marcus designed and built the EqEx (Equalisation Extension tool) that allowed Herbert to equalise his ears deeper than 200m. Marcus helped Herbert to set the Constant weight (No Fins) record during The Triple Depth in Dahab, Egypt, to 83m [5] and went onto push the Constant record to 112m [6] during the World Championships in Sharm el Sheik.

Marcus has recently coached relative newcomer and rising UK star Alan Barber to a Dynamic No Fins record of 127m [7] and several Dynamic Records culminating in the 2009 record of 202m.

Marcus is now coaching Sam Still (Former world Freediving champion) [8] as well as a group of other athletes from the NoTanx Stable.

Innovations in freediving

Marcus worked closely with World Record holder and founder of AIDA International Loïc Leferme from 2001 helping to develop the Lanyard and techniques that have become integral parts of competitive freediving. Loic's concept of relaxation and enjoyment was inspirational and Instrumental in the NTStyle. Psychological emphasised and correctly constructed training regiemes devised by Marcus were innovations within the sport in 2003-4. ("Principles of correct training") [Deep Freediving, ISBN 978-0-9567326-0-6]

"Competitive" freediver

Marcus is an international freediver in his own right. He set his first 2 UK records, Free Immersion -47m and Constant weight No fins -25m, in NDAC in 2003. [9] and bettered the Free Immersion to 50m in 2004.[10]. In 2007 he was ranked 13 in the World. He started competing again in 2010 [11] although his competitive dives are marked by his reluctance to take them seriously [12]

Relaxation therapist

Building on the NT Style freediving, Marcus teaches derivatives of the techniques to a huge range of people. Through seminars, small group tutorials and one to one coaching he shows that efficient brain function and relaxation have benefits throughout life. [13]

Marcus claims that his techniques have been used for: SCUBA diving (extended dive time), General sports (focus and relaxation), Exam preparation (stress control).

References

• "AIDA International". 2008. http://www.aida-international.org/. Retrieved 30 January 2007. 
• "British Freediving Association". 2008. http://www.britishfreediving.org/. Retrieved 12 March 2008. 
• "British Freediving Association". 2009. http://www.britishfreediving.org/. Retrieved 16 August 2009. 
• "Apnea Mania". 2007. http://www.apneamania.com/code/index.asp. Retrieved 11 March 2008. 
• "AIDA International". 2010. http://www.aida-international.org/. Retrieved 5 October 2010. 
• "Freedive central". 2010. http://www.www.freedivecentral.com/. Retrieved 5 October 2010. 
• "Marcus Greatwood". 2008. http://www.MarcusGreatwood.co.uk/. Retrieved 12 March 2008. 

Persondata
Name	Greatwood, Marcus
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	18 March 1973
Place of birth	United Kingdom
Date of death
Place of death