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Throughout 2024, I have learned valuable lessons in my training and competitive journey that have shaped my perspective on perseverance and progress.

Whilst my results in competition have not demonstrated it, 2024 has been a hugely successful year for me. By sharing my reflections on my 2024 competition cycle, I hope to inspire others to embrace challenges, believe in themselves, and persevere in the face of adversity. Each setback has only fueled my determination and hunger for success, reminding me that delayed outcomes are not synonymous with denied outcomes.

2024 CMAS Freediving Indoor World Championships: An amazing opportunity to dive head to head with arguably the greatest freediver of all time - Alexey Molchanov

Video link to the dive later in the article.

Personal Results of 2024 CMAS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

DNF 160M RED CARD (DQ SP)

DYNB 210M RED CARD (DQ SP)

DYN. 230M WHITE CARD (CMAS National Record)

Some goals take more than a season to achieve

At the start of the year, I revisited many of my pool-related goals and set intentions with my training to help achieve them. Some of these goals have been on my list since 2019. I knew they might take a while, initially thinking three years, but COVID extended that timeline. Over the last five years, I have steadily worked through the challenges that made my goals daunting. The work has been rooted in fostering an increased sense of safety, both before and during the dives. Coaching myself has probably prolonged the process, but I’m committed to this journey and have learned a lot from the constant reflection necessary when you are ultimately responsible only to yourself.

For the past few years, I set myself the target of competing at the World Championships. Having a specific date and goal creates the pressure needed to focus your efforts and training to perform at your best. Last year at the World Championships, I achieved personal bests in all my dynamic disciplines. Doing this under the pressure of a big competition boosted my confidence that my potential was still not reached, making the 2024 training cycle exciting. I was determined to uncover new layers of potential. I consolidated my new approach to training after seeing what worked in 2023, and this year’s experience has only increased my confidence that I am on the right path.

After reviewing my dives and those of some top athletes, I decided I would benefit from swimming a little faster this season. I was at my hypoxic limit and was not swimming very fast compared to many, resulting in reasonably long dive times for the distance. Given that I do not have a huge breath hold compared to some athletes, I decided to focus on my strengths: having good technique and being the fittest I have ever been. In previous years, I couldn’t swim faster because my muscles weren’t strong enough, and I struggled to stay relaxed when lactic acid built up. I also found it difficult to judge my hypoxic symptoms when swimming fast, as I would get stressed from the higher lactic response. Thus, a slower approach seemed safer for me previously.

Lifting Weights and Getting Stronger

My initial goal was to increase my strength in the gym and build explosive power to enhance the efficiency of my technique in the pool. I wanted to reach threshold distances in my swims with solid form and a high tolerance to lactic acid. With stronger, more efficient muscles and greater lactic acid tolerance, I could increase my speed while maintaining relaxation. As a newcomer to gym training (I have only been doing it a few years), this was all a fresh challenge for me.

I was fortunate to have the support and guidance of my friend Mel Breasley from Versus Gym in St Kilda. Her expertise was invaluable as I navigated this new aspect of my training. This year, I set ambitious goals to lift heavier weights during my base phase. Within a couple of months, I was amazed by my progress. Years of building a solid foundation paid off, and with focused training, I found myself lifting increasingly heavy weights with confidence.

This transformation was not just physical but also mental. The process of pushing my limits in the gym taught me resilience and patience. Each milestone reinforced my belief in my potential and the importance of a holistic approach to training. By the end of this cycle, the heaviness in my muscles became barely noticeable, and it did not impact my form during longer dives.

The results were evident in my performance. My dive times reduced considerably, as seen by comparing my dives from this year's World Championships to those from last year. This improvement was a testament to the power of integrated training, combining physical strength, mental fortitude, and technical precision. The journey of pumping weights and getting stronger has been transformative, shaping not just my body but also my approach to overcoming challenges and achieving my goals.

DYN

2023 WC 235M 3:23

2024 WC 230M 2:48

DNF

2023 WC 170M 3:25

2024 Training 169M 2:58

*Dive times alone do not represent an improvement in maximum distance covered - it is important that each person address this individually. There are a number of factors that will determine whether you are more suited to swim faster or slower. I like to work through evaluation exercises with the people I coach to discover what will help them achieve their greatest potential.

Steps Towards Conquering Performance Anxiety: Unveiling Confidence and Courage

Another major goal this year was to address performance anxiety in the days leading up to competitions. While I’ve been pretty good at managing anxiety immediately before a swim, I’ve struggled with a tendency to convince myself that I wouldn’t perform my best in the days leading up to the event—a sort of “accepting defeat” attitude. This was usually unwarranted and unnecessary, and I was sure that top athletes didn’t experience this. I would oscillate between feeling capable and then doubting my circumstances, accepting that I probably wouldn’t succeed on the day. This internal dialogue had some positive aspects, as it kept me from being overconfident and encouraged me to stay present and finish my dives when I needed to. However, I wanted to resolve this confidence issue in 2024 and stop doubting my abilities before each major dive.

For many athletes I’ve coached, performance anxiety and how they manage it is a huge factor in whether they reach their potential during the dive. Divers who come up short often say things like “it didn’t feel right” or “contractions came really early” or “I didn’t want to be there today.” Your response during the dive to these feelings is often determined by your internal dialogue before the dive and whether or not you have the confidence to explore your potential. The most important question to answer affirmatively is “DO I FEEL SAFE?”. The conversations you have with yourself in the days prior often determine which path you choose and how you execute it when things get challenging during the dive. Although I wasn’t bailing on dives, I sometimes had a negative dialogue about the dive, which likely created muscular tension and a sense of fight or flight that I was battling against.

Ash, Ant and Jarrod at the 2024 Pool Freediving National Championships

Determined to overcome this in 2024, I reached out to my mentor, Ant Williams, after the Australian Nationals. At Nationals, I felt like I had given up before I even started, making excuses to myself about being too busy organising or coaching others to do my best. I wanted to go into the World Championships in Belgrade this year with the confidence that I had trained to the best of my ability and that the pressure of a big competition would not impact my performance. Ant and I discussed the feelings that were coming up for me, and through that process, I realised that on my best dive in training, I woke up knowing I would achieve that dive on that day. I had no doubt. Unpacking the thoughts and emotions after that chat with Ant revealed a pattern and I knew I could get in front of it and approach future dives with confidence.

Despite my result at the World Championships being a bit underwhelming, I feel like I achieved this goal in 2024. I wasn’t nervous about my dives, despite it being the biggest competition ever with a huge lineup of stars and big names in the sport. I was confident and excited to have the opportunity to perform, viewing the pressure of the competition as a privilege—something I had earned the right to experience because I had taken the leap to compete and done the hard work for many months and years to prepare. It felt empowering to feel supported in my attempts by the months of training and positive self-talk and visualisation that preceded the competition. This was a huge achievement in 2024 and something I will carry with me into future years of competing.

Getting Sick Before Competition

Unfortunately, I fell ill two weeks before the World Championships with a nasty cold. This forced me to rest for the week before I left for Serbia, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it did mean that the taper I had planned was unachievable. Just a week prior to getting sick, I had achieved personal bests in all dynamic disciplines and ticked off my 2024 goals. Reaching these milestones, which had been on my list for five years, felt significant and I was really proud of myself for this achievement.

When reaching new levels of potential, especially those that have been challenging to achieve, it's crucial to remain humble, acknowledging that they might not be replicable on demand. I understood this going into the World Championships, but the same confidence that had helped reduce my performance anxiety now risked creating overconfidence in my dives.

The organisers of this year’s World Championships in Serbia had a monumental task: running the biggest freediving event ever, with arguably the highest calibre of athletes and the best broadcast to date. Like two years ago, the venue posed several challenges at this time of year. There was almost no temperature control inside, so as soon as a few people were in the venue and the weather got hot outside, it turned into a warm sauna. This made it especially difficult as the official times got later in the day, with mine scheduled at 1PM or after. I found myself sweating profusely and at risk of being dehydrated before my dives on the first two days of competition. Additionally, I still felt a bit foggy, with remnants of my cold, and had a mild headache all week.

This should have been a sign to be extra cautious, but having worked so hard, I was determined to reach my potential and didn’t check in early enough on my hypoxic symptoms. Ultimately, I wasn’t humble enough to recognize that on those days, I would perform well below my training ability. As a result, after my DNF and DYNB dives, I experienced a loss of motor control and dipped my airways at the surface, resulting in disqualification.

VIDEO: My most spectacular LMC yet!

VIDEO: My most spectacular LMC yet!

Reflecting on this experience, I realised the importance of adaptability and humility, especially when external factors threaten performance. While my illness and the challenging environment were beyond my control, my response to these conditions was within my grasp. This experience underscored the need to balance confidence with caution, ensuring that I remain attuned to my body's signals, even under the pressures of competition. This lesson, though learned the hard way, will be invaluable in my future endeavours, helping me to approach each competition with a blend of determination and prudence.

I felt like I was able to do this in DYN on the last day of competition where I was curiously matched up in a heat with Alexey Molchanov (the deepest and most famous freediver on the planet).

Funny Story: A Surprise Guest Star

So, picture this: I arrived at the last day of pool for the World Championships, confident and ready to dive. According to the original start list, Alexey Molchanov wasn’t supposed to be in my heat. I hadn’t even realised he was competing in the competition. Surprisingly, I didn’t notice the list had been updated either. When I saw him there at registration, I thought, "Oh, he's probably here to support someone else." No big deal.

To manage my temperature before the dive, I decided to lay motionless on the cold tiles, trying to stay cool and calm, unlike other days. In the process, I completely forgot about seeing Alexey. As my heat approached, I got up and saw him putting on a wetsuit. Still oblivious, I figured he was gearing up to take photos of one of the other Russian athletes. You know, just your typical supportive superstar diver, right?

But then things got weirder. Alexey got into a lane, and I thought, "Hmm, maybe he’s in the heat before me?" But nope. The announcer’s voice boomed across the pool: “Next up we have Jarrod Briffa from Australia in Lane A and Alexey Molchanov in Lane C.”

Cue my brain short-circuiting. Suddenly, I was sharing the pool with Alexey Molchanov, the legend himself and it was only 4 minutes until my official top. My start time had also been moved! It was like showing up late for a casual basketball game and finding Michael Jordan in the lineup. I had a brief moment of panic, then thought, "Well, if I’m going to be outdone, at least it’s by the best!"

So, there I was, diving next to the Michael Jordan of freediving. I decided to embrace the moment and adopt a student mindset. Surprisingly, it seemed to work for me—I got my first white card of the competition! Unfortunately, it didn’t work so well for Alexey, as he had a surface blackout after an impressive 281m.

Click this link: Watch Jarrod and Alexey’s Dive here

Click this link: Watch Jarrod and Alexey’s Dive here

Resolving Performance Anxiety Without Becoming Overconfident

Resolving performance anxiety had been a significant milestone for me, but it introduced a new challenge: the risk of overconfidence. I didn’t give enough respect to this risk and the challenging conditions on the day of the World Championships. For any major dive, it’s crucial to be present and make decisions at the moment they need to be made. When we’re overconfident, it’s easy to rely on past achievements and delay the decision to surface until it’s too late.

At the World Championships, I observed this issue with many top athletes, particularly in the Men’s category. The conditions became more challenging as the day went on, but it also seemed that the larger the ego, the harder it was to adapt. Many athletes, likely facing similar environmental challenges to mine, didn’t want to miss their shot at performing their best after months of rigorous training.

The key lesson here is that while overcoming performance anxiety is vital, it must be balanced with humility and adaptability. Confidence can propel us to new heights, but it should never blind us to the realities of the present moment or the changing conditions around us. Staying humble and present ensures we remain aware of our limits and make safer, smarter decisions during critical moments. This balance of confidence and humility, coupled with an acute awareness of our environment, is essential for consistent and safe performance at the highest levels.

An Outcome Delayed is Not an Outcome Denied

As I reflect on my diving journey, I've come to understand that an outcome delayed is simply a step on the path, not a denial of success. The lessons I've learned from both competitions and training this year are invaluable, poised to guide my growth over the next 12 months. While the results at the World Championships didn't unfold as expected, they have only fueled my determination to push forward.

I'm incredibly grateful for the unwavering support I've received on this competitive journey. My heartfelt thanks go to my partner Ash, who has been a steadfast pillar of encouragement. I'm deeply appreciative of Angus Mcleay, who travelled to Belgrade despite being unable to compete himself, and to Justine and Mick for their early arrival to show support. Mel, my dedicated gym buddy from Versus, has been instrumental in my training journey. Ant, for his invaluable insights on sports psychology, has been a guiding light. To Brenton, my business partner, and all my friends, coaching clients, and fellow divers at Melbourne Freedivers club—your supportive messages during the competition meant the world to me.

I also want to extend heartfelt congratulations to the individuals I've had the privilege of coaching this year. Your unwavering commitment, willingness to push boundaries, and dedication to uncovering your potential have been deeply inspiring. Witnessing your growth and newfound confidence has been both a joy and an honour. You all continue to inspire me profoundly as I forge ahead on my own path in competitive freediving.

An Outcome Delayed is Not an Outcome Denied: Embracing Patience and Persistence