Editing Jacques Mayol (section)

==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"/>