Local man to compete in international freediving event
Carlos Villamar, a 67-year-old patent attorney and inventor from Bailey’s Crossroads, is preparing to compete for an Ecuadorian national record at a pool freediving competition in Tampa Bay, Fla., in December.
Villamar’s mission is more than a personal athletic challenge, he says. He has launched a crowdfunding campaign to cover both his basic costs with the balance of donations supporting a swimming program for children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities.
“I want to use this platform to demonstrate what is still possible through disciplined, consistent training, while giving the gift of water confidence to those who need it most,” Villamar says. Villamar volunteers with the adapted aquatics program at the Springhill Rec Center.
Freedivers in the ocean try to go as deep as possible while holding their breath. Freediving in a pool is less well known, but it’s a growing sport, he says.
“People think it’s dangerous. When it’s practiced properly, it’s safe,” Villamar says. The goal is to stay calm and use as little air as possible. It’s as much a mental discipline as a physical sport.
There are several types of freediving competitions in a pool, Villamar explains, such as seeing how long you can float face down while holding your breath and seeing how far you can swim underwater on a single breath without fins, with fins, or with both feet in a single fin, like a mermaid.
He will compete for Ecuador because he came to the U.S. from Ecuador with his family when he was 6. He plans to go to Guayaquil later this month and train with the Ecuadorian freedivers and pursue registration with the Ecuadorian Underwater Activities Federation.
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Villamar has experience in extreme water conditions and learned about the dive tables as a pararescue specialist in the Air Force. He took up meditation about six years ago and more recently began training at Blue Alchemy Free Diving in Haymarket.
Meditation and free diving are related because both disciplines require clearing your mind and lowering your heart rate. Villarmar’s coach holds the record for the M2 freediving division for ages 60-69 and convinced him to compete, too.
At the 2026 UNU Tampa CMAS (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques/World Underwater Federation) international competition, Villamar plans to compete in three events: “static apnea” (hold one’s breath while floating calmly at the surface), swimming underwater for distance using two fins or a monofin, and swimming underwater without fins.
Villamar estimates he needs a total budget of $12,200 for equipment, travel, training, and related costs. More details are spelled out on his GoFundMe page.
“I want all contributors to feel like they are part of the effort and journey,” he says. As the campaign progresses, he plans to share regular updates on the GoFundMe page, including training clips, his experiences in Ecuador, behind-the-scenes preparation for the competition, and reflections on the mental and psychological side of freediving.