Umberto Pelizzari (born August 28, 1965) is an Italian freediver, widely considered among the best of all time. Of his era, he is the sole person to have established world records in all the then existing disciplines of freediving.

Early life

Pelizzari was born in the Lombardian city

Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio (; lmo, label= Bustocco, Büsti Grandi) is an Italian city and '' comune'' in the south-easternmost part of the Province of Varese, in the region of Lombardy, in Northern Italy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is ma ...

. He debuted as a child in professional swimming, moving to freediving at age 19.

Sportive achievements

At and , In 1990 Pelizzari obtained the world record in the respected discipline Constant Weight with , while in the following year establishing his first record in the

Variable Weight Variable may refer to: * Variable (computer science), a symbolic name associated with a value and whose associated value may be changed * Variable (mathematics), a symbol that represents a quantity in a mathematical expression, as used in man ...

discipline with . On October 26 of the same year he pushed himself to to set a new world record in the No Limits discipline. All through the 1990s Pelizzari became famous for his sportive rivalry with the time's other world top freediver,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

n Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras, originally a close training friend around 1990. Particularly in No-Limits, Pelizzari and Ferreras pushed each other deeper and deeper, and subsequently Pelizzari enhanced his measures to establish round markers in Constant Weight with , and in No Limits with , both these at the same event in October 1999. The rivalry of Pelizzari and Ferreras became the focus of the 2001

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme ...

production Ocean Men: Extreme Dive, directed by renowned under water photographer Bob Talbot. Pelizzari was one of a handful of instigators behind the respected freediving organization

AIDA ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

which formed in 1994. Twice, in 1996 and 2001, Pelizzari became AIDA World Champion with the Italian national team. In 2001, Pelizzari concluded his athletic career with a Variable Weight record of and retired thereafter.

Post-athletic life

Pelizzari is currently professor at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna di Pisa and a TV host. He has also formed the freediving training agency

Apnea Academy Apnea, BrE: apnoea, is the temporal cessation of breathing. During apnea, there is no movement of the muscles of inhalation, and the volume of the lungs initially remains unchanged. Depending on how blocked the airways are ( patency), there may ...

which sees much respect in freediving circuits, and co-authored the widely used

Manual of Freediving Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual * Instruction manual (gaming) * Online help Other uses * Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ * Manual (band) * Manual transmission * Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...

with his former trainer

Stefano Tovaglieri Stefano is the Italian form of the masculine given name Στέφανος (Stefanos, Stephen). The name is of Greek origin, Στέφανος, meaning a person who made a significant achievement and has been crowned. In Orthodox Christianity the ac ...

References

External links

Umberto Pelizzari official website

Umberto's Official Facebook Page

Apnea Academy - School for Instruction and Research of Freediving - founded by Umberto Pelizzari

Pelizzari's BOOKS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelizzari, Umberto 1965 births Living people People from Busto Arsizio Italian freedivers Italian male swimmers Italian television personalities Sportspeople from the Province of Varese