Death-defying free dives push boundaries

Watch the Segment »

Web Extras

Linden Wolbert: He took off the nose clip, made the sign and said "I'm OK" without removing his goggles.

Bob Simon: Boy o' boy. He had just been down a quarter of a kilometer.

Linden Wolbert: That's correct.

Bob Simon: He did goggles in the wrong order and it cost him his record.

Linden Wolbert: It did.

It sounds like a technicality, but he has to prove that his mind is as tough as his body.

Bob Simon: You got there. You got deeper than anyone has ever gotten before.

William Trubridge: Yeah. Yeah.

Bob Simon: And then you took your mask off and said "OK" in the wrong order and it was all for nothing.

William Trubridge: Yeah.

Bob Simon: And you're smiling.

William Trubridge: I feel good because I know I can do it again-- maybe it might not be for a while, but I can definitely do that depth.

Bob Simon: But you did feel narcosis?

William Trubridge: Yeah.

Tanya Streeter had a close call with severe narcosis 10 years ago. She was doing what's called No Limits diving -- going down in a weighted device which moves fast and goes down deeper than most WWII era submarines. This is Tanya at 525 feet, deeper than anyone had ever gone. She blew a kiss to the ocean. But then she became disoriented. It took her 17 agonizing seconds to remember she had to pull a pin -- any longer and she might have stayed down there forever. But with experiences like this, why go down at all?

Tanya Streeter: It's just a little bit difficult for people to fathom, if you excuse the pun, but it's what I love to do. You know, it's a common phrase in free diving, we don't dive to look around us, we dive to look within ourselves. It's a journey of self-exploration.

Bob Simon: What can you possibly be exploring in your own mind when your ears hurt and you're out of breath and it's dark and, you know, it's dangerous?

Tanya Streeter: I want to know what I've got. I want to know what I'm made of.

When we watched this, we thought about other sports: running, climbing, boxing, swimming. They've all been essential for the survival of the human race. But descending into blackness where there's no air...Yet, free diving is becoming more popular every year.