| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Nicholas Lawrence Mevoli III |
Nickname(s) | Nick, Nic[1] |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | (1981-08-22)August 22, 1981 Dunedin, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | November 17, 2013(2013-11-17) (aged 32) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Free-diving |
Nicholas Lawrence Mevoli III (August 22, 1981 – November 17, 2013)[2] was an Americanfreediver who died while attempting to set an American record at theVertical Blue competition atDean's Blue Hole inthe Bahamas.[3][4]
Mevoli was born inDunedin, Florida, and lived inWilliamsburg, Brooklyn,New York.[2][3][5] He worked as aprop technician in the film and television industry in New York, including onThe CW seriesGossip Girl and theComedy Central seriesChappelle's Show.[6][7][8] He was also an actor, technician and writer withRising Sun Performance Company,[8][1] and starred in the 2004 independent filmExist.[9][10][11]
Mevoli began free-diving competitively in early 2012. He won titles twice at the Deja Blue competition and finished third at the Caribbean Cup inRoatán,Honduras. He achieved an American record in the Caribbean Cup on May 27, 2013, with a dive to 100 meters in theConstant Weight (CWT) category.[12] He finished third in theConstant Weight Without Fins (CNF) category at the free-diving world championships in Greece in September 2013.[3]
On November 15, 2013, Mevoli attempted to reach a depth of 96 metres (315 ft) in theFree Immersion (FIM) category at Vertical Blue, but had to turn back at 80 metres (260 ft) after suffering anupper respiratory squeeze.[3]
Two days later, Mevoli attempted a CNF dive to 72 metres (236 ft) on a single breath.[3][4] He began to turn back at 68 metres (223 ft), but appeared to change his mind and dived downward again. Mevoli returned to the surface after 3 minutes and 38 seconds underwater, but fell backward into the ocean and lost consciousness. Safety divers and the event physician attempted to revive Mevoli, whose pulse disappeared. Afterresuscitation efforts had continued for 90 minutes, he was transported toVid Simms Memorial Health Center, reportedly suffering frompulmonary edema.[2][3] Mevoli died at 1:44 p.m. He was the first athlete to die in an international free-diving competition.[3]
The New York Times published a photograph of a visibly distressed Mevoli taken just after his return to the surface from his last dive and shortly before he lost consciousness.[1] Some readers questioned the ethics of publishing the photograph.[8]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
