5 December 2025

1:30 PM – 2:15 PM

Salle Proudhon

Frédéric Lemaître

Frédéric Lemaître is Professor of Physiology at the University of Lorraine in the Faculty of Sports Sciences. A member of the Development, Adaptation and Disability Laboratory, he continues his research into the human body’s adaptations to extreme conditions, including freediving. With over 20 years of expertise in the physiology of freediving, Professor Lemaître, who is also a freediver and freediving instructor, has spent his career explaining the various mechanisms behind freedivers’ feats and working to prevent accidents involving them. Today, he focuses his research on the brain’s adaptability in freedivers and attempts to apply his findings to various pathologies such as neurodegenerative or metabolic diseases. In addition to his numerous publications, he is also the author of several books, including “L’apnée de la théorie à la pratique” (Freediving: From Theory to Practice) and “Le manuel d’entraînement à l’apnée” (The Freediving Training Manual), which will soon be reissued.

Freediving: a journey to the limits of your abilities?

In recent years, freediving has become a discipline in its own right, combining physical and mental skills. Learning to breathe properly, letting go, and concentrating while being able to hold your breath are the key concepts. In light of increasingly exceptional performances, the author will explain how and why the human body adapts to oxygen deprivation and great depths. The risks of freediving, such as syncope and pulmonary edema, and the various measures to prevent them will also be discussed.