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marieclaire.com.au 83
PHOTOGRAPHED BY IAN DERRY/CHILLI MEDIA/HEADPRESS. WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION
Finnish free diver Johanna
Nordblad can hold her breath
for longer than six minutes
and 30 seconds. She’s the world
record holder for free diving at
50 metres under ice, but it’s a
pursuit she came across by
accident – literally. “I fell off
my motocross bike in 2010,
shattering my shin bones into
tiny pieces,” says Nordblad.
“I had complicated surgery to
prevent necrosis [dead and
dying tissue] and every night for
three years I woke up in pain.”
After finding out about
the astonishing capacity of ice
therapy to decrease pain and
inflammation, Nordblad, who
had already been diving for 10
years, turned her attention to
the Arctic. “Feeling cold was
the only thing that took the pain
away, so I started free diving
in ice,” she says. “Holding my
breath under water involves
extreme concentration and
relaxation, but when I’m down
there, I’m not afraid of anything.
I’m happiest under the ice.”
80 per cent of the population has no or insufficient access to treatment for moderate to severe pain.
THE ICE
QUEEN
-96?2?244:56?E=6ñ @92??2
Nordblad in constant pain, she
found a life-changing passion
for free diving in glacial waters
INSPIRATION
Johanna Nordblad
finds relief from
chronic pain by diving
- sans equipment –
50 metres below
the frozen surface.