Freediving Australia: Tara Rawson’s Journey to National Champion

By Felicity Purvis

The Moment That Sparked a Freediving Journey

Imagine that you are twenty metres underwater, surrounded by the most breathtaking coral you have ever seen. All you can hear are your own scuba bubbles and parrot fish munching on the reef next to you. Inquisitive little fish swim up to you, taking shelter under your belly as you drift along in the current. You smile to yourself. You have never felt this free.

Until, off in the distance, you see someone diving down with only a pair of fins and a mask. You watch this freediver, enamoured by the way she can move so fluidly and gracefully through the water. You suddenly begin to resent the weight of the scuba tank on your back. Your BCD and regulator makes you start to feel claustrophobic.

You decide then and there that you will learn to freedive, not realising that you will one day become the deepest woman in Australia.

From 40m to National Records: Tara Rawson’s Rapid Descent in Freediving Australia

This is the story of Tara Rawson. Born and raised in Australia, Tara has always loved the ocean and grew up around the sea. She loves everything surfing, spearfishing, and of course, freediving. She now travels the world working as a nutritionist and professional freediver. As of August 2025, Tara is now  Australia’s national champion  across two freediving disciplines.

I first met Tara in South Sinai, Egypt. We were huddled around a bonfire in the mountains when we got talking about all things ocean. I was doing my scuba divemaster at the time, and Tara had just moved to our little beach town as a freediving instructor. At this time, she was diving to about forty metres on one breath, which already blew my mind. Her passion for her sport infected me after about ten minutes of talking. I was just fascinated by her holistic and mindful approach to everything, but especially freediving. Soon after, Tara became my instructor, and unlocked a love for freediving in me that I truly never anticipated.

We stayed in touch after Tara left Egypt, mostly through Instagram. About a year later, I remember I was doomscrolling when one of her stories popped up on my feed. It was a photo of her holding a white card saying “82m National Record”.

I was simply amazed. I immediately wanted to know how this woman I met on a mountain in the desert went from diving 40m to 82m in the space of only one year. Especially given what I am about to tell you next.

Overcoming Injury: How an Achilles Rupture Didn’t Stop Her Comeback

Something that may surprise you (it definitely shocked me) about Tara’s journey is that she actually severely ruptured her Achilles tendon only eight months before breaking her first national record. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the injury, an  Achilles rupture  is essentially a tear in the tendon that connects your calf muscle to your heel. This can impact every form of movement, with a full recovery taking up to a year. 

Tara explained in a podcast interview with  The Foot Collective  that she really struggled with her loss of movement, as moving her body has always been a form of “medicine and escape”. So, finding movement that she could do, such as swimming and yoga, was game-changing. A couple of months before her competition, she was back to freediving – having to be carried to the dive site because she couldn’t walk! 

And then, after only a few months of being back in the water, Tara Rawson became the deepest woman in Australia.

“I really went into that competition with no expectations,” Tara explained to me. “I didn’t even expect to be able to wear fins.”

Here’s the thing you need to know about freediving competitions: you have to announce the depth you’re aiming for before making the dive. And given that Tara broke her first national record on day one of the competition, I knew that this “no expectations” line she was feeding was total BS.

Tara laughed when I called her out on this, and admitted that, “I never call a new depth in a competition, so I knew this was a dive I could do.”

So what you’re telling us, Tara, is that you were breaking national records in your training leading up to a global competition only months after a debilitating foot injury? What I’m hearing is that I never have an excuse to not give something a go ever again.

Women in Freediving: Building Confidence in the Ocean

At Made For It, we know how intimidating male-dominated water sports can be, and we’re all about encouraging women to get in the water and give something a try. I asked Tara her perspective on how being a woman has shaped her experience as a freediver. 

“I think freediving is quite a feminine sport,” she said. “There’s this huge element of softness and exhalation and curiosity, which I think are all very feminine qualities.”

Tara explained that freediving allows her to hold herself “with love”, rather than always pushing for personal bests or new records. She said that you will never improve with freediving if you are always trying really hard and pushing yourself. Tara says, “It’s not about power. It’s about softness and flow.”

Tara explained that freediving is a sport that is all about choices. When you are fifty metres underwater and you start feeling your body’s urge to breathe, you have a choice: do I go to the surface, or do I stay for a few more seconds and see what happens? These extra seconds make the difference between an underwhelming dive and an amazing one.

So, when asked if she had any advice for women looking to get into freediving, Tara said to make sure you go in an environment where you feel safe to make choices.

“If you’re safe then you can be curious. And as soon as you’re curious, then you can be better.”

Embracing Freedom in the Ocean: A New Wave of Women in Freediving

Tara Rawson’s journey shows freediving is about trust, curiosity, and flow. She is currently back in Australia for some much needed R&R before a competition in Dominica at the end of the year. 

Good luck, Tara. Everyone at Made For It is cheering for you.