MAKE IT COUNT
In the world of sport and exploration, a matter of moments can make all the difference between glory and defeat. Here, eight inspiring men share the flashpoints of their illustrious careers
Eight inspiring men describe the knife-edge moments that changed their lives for ever
GUILLAUME NERY FACES DEEP TROUBLE
Pushing himself to the limit at the 2015 Aida Individual Depth Championships, the record-breaking French freediver nearly loses his life in the fathomless depths I was feeling confident after breaking my own record a few days earlier with a dive of 126m. That was just two metres short of the world record – so, at the World Championships precompetition, I decided to top it with 129m. During the descent, I started to feel it was taking too long. I looked down and didn’t realise I was already at 134m.
On the way back up, I was swimming slower for the final 20m before I reached the surface. Then I blacked out. I don’t remember what happened next. My safety divers brought me up: I wasn’t breathing, so they tried to revive me. I’d spent three minutes and 40 seconds underwater. Slowly, I regained consciousness, but my lungs were damaged. I looked at the dive computer and what I saw was terrifying – it had logged me at 139m. I didn’t make the record because I blacked out, but the near-death experience made me decide it was time to stop breaking records.
The daredevil diver faces his fears to triumph at the Red Bull Cliff-diving World Series 2017 in his native Italy As I walked up to the platform, I was thinking, “Will the dive be good? Will I get hurt?” I just had to tell myself I could do it. Jumping is bizarre: you’re terrified to do it, but the adrenalin is so addictive that you want to anyway. I was going through hell as I fell head first, 27m into the sea. It’s scary, but you also feel like a bird flying through the air, and that beats the fear. It was over in seconds. Everything changed for me, because I’d never won anything before.
Victorious at the WGC-DELL Match Play, the world No1 becomes the first golfer ever to have won each of the four World Golf Championships The WGC-DELL Technologies Match Play is a great but gruelling five days. It’s a test of your physical and mental fitness, particularly as you play so many rounds. I started with my confidence at an all-time high. I cruised through my first five matches, but the weekend was tough. Hideto Tanihara played really well in our semifinal match and kept it close until the end but, fortunately, I survived. My final match against Jon Rahm was wild, and I eventually won with a slim one-up lead. I felt immense pride when I realised what I’d accomplished, especially as I was the first to do it. Winning these matches is never easy and always a huge achievement.
The self-taught adventurer almost dies alone in the Gobi Desert during a 1,500-mile, unsupported expedition from west to east Mongolia After walking for weeks, I was slowly dehydrating myself. The Gobi was roasting: 40°C and higher. I was delirious, starting to hallucinate, and I had a bad temperature. By this point, I’d had no more than a litre of hot water to drink for four days. My lips had started to blister; my eyes were red and bloodshot. It felt as though my insides were turning to dust – it was awful. The only way out of this dark situation was to stand up, strap on my 120kg trailer and carry on walking. It was like pulling a concrete block through hell. I got my watch out and timed myself, spending no more than five minutes under the trailer for shade. Then, on the dot, I would walk up to 200m.
When I finally reached the community I was aiming for, I was taken into a room and collapsed on the bed as the locals brought in lots of fluid. The room filled up with 11 or 12 people, and they sat there looking at me in a way that said, “Holy shit, this guy’s just come from the Gobi, walking.” I took maybe 10 gulps of water, and I was full because my belly had shrunk. I just remember drinking it and closing my eyes and thinking it tasted like a banana milkshake. It was just heaven to be able to drink it in the shade, under shelter.