Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

Hold your breath

How long can you not breathe? A half-minute? Well, your apnea is half a minute, then. On November 21, the Basque Country Apnea Championship was held in Eibar. Not only the Basques, but also the apnearians from other places came to Eibar. The best of the test took more than 6 minutes under water.

Asier is an apnealistic attack, that is, he performs the sport of apnea. Asier has a tough day ahead: he has a championship in the Eibar Sports Centre, where he will not only participate, but also play the role of organizer.

Apnea, by definition, is not breathing. The goal of this sport is to do as much time underwater as possible. They will have two tests: static, which they do at rest, and dynamic, to measure how many meters they swim.

ATTACK BY ASIER; apnealaria: In my family we have always been divers: my father was a diver, my uncle was also a diver... and I started to enter the water from a very young age. Many people left us marked by a film: The Great Blue by Luc Besson. It was there that apnea appeared as a mystical thing, that left us marked. And a lot of people started on the apnea after watching that movie.

As in other sports tests, apnearians perform warm-ups. But calmly, without hastening the heartbeat. Moratoriums and relaxation.

ATTACK BY ASIER; apnealaria: It's also physical, but it's a very mental thing. And what you need to get is a lot of relief, a little bit of sleep.

During breathing, oxygen is burned and carbon dioxide is produced. In apnea, carbon dioxide builds up and we become seriously ill: this is called a thirst for breath.

Iñigo Arregi; the doctor: We have receptors in the carotid artery here in the neck that see the pressure of carbon dioxide. When this begins to rise, at some point this thirst appears. There comes a time when this thirst is very strong, it is like torture. And then we start breathing. Some people, if well prepared, have the opportunity to survive. When you touch water, if the reflex is one; and the heart rate goes down, then the pulsations go down. That's usually good. It's seen in all the tests I did on the apnea, in these electrocardiogram complexes, it's seen that these complexes decrease. Then the heart is working less. Why is that? Less oxygen to waste. In addition, another thing happens: the redistribution of oxygen. Blood doesn't go everywhere, only to vital places.

The brain and heart cannot run out of oxygen. When the brain is going to run out of oxygen, we lose the chord and automatically start breathing. This is the limit of apnea.

Start the static test. To ensure that the apneist is well, the judge asks him for a sign once and for all, and his answer must be clear.

Now it's Asier's turn.

ATTACK BY ASIER; apnealaria: From the outside, it looks pretty rough, because you see a guy without moving in the pool... and it ends up getting long. But when you're involved, you suffer a little bit in the end, but you're focused and time doesn't get that long.

Asier walked for four and a half minutes without breathing.

Iñigo Arregi; the doctor: Recovery is usually very short because the test is very short. When you breathe a couple of times, you immediately begin to oxygenate and recover.

The second test in the large pool, known as dynamic apnea, is now underway. Asier is the first to leave. With his fins on, he tries to find the balance of speed and oxygen consumption to make as many meters underwater as possible.

swim 116.6 meters under water before reaching the surface.

In many ways, apnea is not a common sport. No screams of encouragement are heard during the test. Silence and tranquility reign.

One after the other the other competitors have also finished the test. The tournament is over.

With both tests in mind, Asier is third in the overall standings. The first was the Catalan Oscar López and the second was Oriol Navarro. Among the Basques, he climbed to the top of the podium, the second was Gorka Llona and the third was Hector Aratioarro.

ATTACK BY ASIER; apnealaria: The sensations are very beautiful. Not in competition, because you are very focused, but then when you go to the water, and when you are playing, this training gives you another peace of mind.