After years of “courtship,” Marco Mardollo officially joins the Apnea Passion Team. An entry that comes at a particularly significant moment in his journey: now, free of ties to companies and organizations, he will be able to make available to the Magazine, and to its readers around the world, his extraordinary experience and deep technical expertise in the evaluation and review of freediving equipment.
With this further strengthening, Team Apnea Passion confirms itself as an increasingly close-knit group of sponsor-independent champions and athletes, able to test, analyze and review freediving and spearfishing products in a professional, knowledgeable and credible manner. A rigorous approach designed exclusively to provide Magazine readers around the world with reliable, quality information, whether they are freediving, spearfishing, or both.
Marco Mardollo: from Apnea Academy to Y-40, an international reference for freediving
With more than 40 years of experience in freediving and diving techniques, Marco Mardollo is one of the top Italian and international references in the field. Born in Padua in 1957, he started swimming at the age of six and spearfishing at the age of 10, going down to a depth of 12 meters (in those years there were no legal restrictions ed.).
His first diving patents date back to 1978, and since then he has collected competitive titles and certifications: FIAS Italian Diving Technique Champion in 1981, FIAS instructor since 1982, and CMAS 3-star instructor since 1994, with the ability to train other freediving instructors. As early as 1988 he began organizing freediving courses.
In 1995 he founded, together with Umberto Pelizzari, Umberto Pelizzari, Renzo Mazzarri and Angelo Azzinari, the one that would revolutionize freediving worldwide: the prestigious Apnea Academy. In this context, Marco has been instrumental in innovating the way apnea is conceived, introducing an approach that places relaxation, breathing, and mental preparation at the center, alongside physical technique. Marco Mardollo has always maintained that apnea is not only a sport discipline, but also a path to wellness and deep body awareness.
For more than a decade, he has coached the Padua Diving Club’s competitive team, guiding athletes to the top of the Italian Championships and developing fitness and technique assessment tests that helped bring out talent and enhance proper preparation.
From 2014 to 2021, he was technical manager of Y-40, the world’s famous deepest thermal pool in Montegrotto Terme, where he oversaw every aspect of safety, regulations and equipment. His presence was constant: from the freedivers in the water to the hallways of the center, from the technical control of the sessions to supervising the mental preparation of the practitioners. Marco helped make Y-40 a unique reference point in Italy and the world.
In addition to extraordinary technical experience, Marco brings with him a deep knowledge of the body and performance, also developed through complementary sports such as cycling, kayaking, ju-jitsu, snowboarding, and skydiving. His ability to observe, correct, and optimize freedivers’ technique makes him a thoughtful and forward-thinking teacher, capable of conveying passion, confidence, and expertise to anyone approaching freediving.
Carlo Forni
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Apnea Passion International Magazine, Carlo Forni, comments, “I have been “courting” Marco for almost ten years to have him on the Apnea Passion Team. Always characterized by absolute transparency and intellectual honesty, in the past Marco did not feel fully free to express completely independent evaluations on products, due to some constraints related to his professional commitments. In a recent chat, however, he told me how these ties no longer exist today, and I did not hesitate for a moment to try again. Having him on the team is an honor and a great satisfaction for us.
By joining Team Apnea Passion, Marco will bring all his experience, rigor, and passion to bear, helping to guide, along with the other Team members, our community toward an increasingly knowledgeable, technical, and safe practice of freediving, and above all, further raising the level of our product reviews.”
Marco Mardollo
“Teaching has always been one of the central aspects of my path. Going underwater, passing on knowledge in freediving and delving into every detail related to the technical gesture is what has always motivated me, from the very beginning. I have been practicing diving since the second half of the 1970s and have had the privilege of experiencing firsthand the evolution of equipment, techniques, and materials.
Over the years I have always taken a special interest in the study of effort and efficiency in the water: the use of fins, finning technique, the relationship between athlete and equipment. Understanding how innovation can improve performance and safety is a process that I consider fundamental.
That is why joining a group of undisputed athletes and an internationally recognized professional organization such as Apnea Passion is a strong and authentic stimulus for me. I fully agree with the approach based on analysis, concrete testing of materials and serious and independent technical dissemination.
My experience as technical manager at Y-40 also allowed me to observe the evolution of modern freediving in real time, in close contact with freedivers from all over the world, including great Champions. This continuous comparison has greatly enriched my human and professional background.
To put these skills at the service of Apnea Passion today is to contribute to a project that enhances the knowledge, research and conscious growth of freediving. And it is something I consider natural, as well as deeply exciting.“
