Ong sets three freediving national marks in Camotes

It was the hunt for a sea turtle that took Patricia Ong into the world of freediving.

- Ervin Ang

The Singaporean had travelled to Gili Meno island - home to a sea turtle sanctuary off the west coast of Lombok, Indonesia, in October 2019 to obtain her scuba diving certification.

Spotting the creature about 10m below the surface, she tried to dive down to take a picture of it and chanced upon someone swimming casually without an oxygen tank.

That was how she learnt about freediving, a form of underwater diving that is done in a single breath without underwater gear.

There are mainly two types of disciplines one is depth, where the diver descends into the water, while the other is pool, where the diver travels horizontally.

When she returned to Singapore, Ong signed up for a freediving course and was encouraged by her instructor Mark Cheung to pick up the sport competitively.