Top Free Divers in the World
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Free diving is one of the most extreme sports in the world. It's a form of diving that doesn’t require any breathing equipment, but instead, a single breath of air. Divers train to hold their breath for up to, and sometimes longer than, 4 minutes to reach depths as far as 400 feet.
Breath-holding comes with limitations and dangers of its own if not practiced properly. Divers can experience blackouts, loss of motor function and even death. In addition to the physicality of the sport, mental toughness is also required to achieve such depths. While some divers simply wish to experience the underwater world without the bulky equipment required in scuba diving, others train in a more competitive manner for years in order to push themselves to their limits to achieve world records in depth.
Vertical Blue, founded by 18-time world record-holding free diver William Trubridge, is the biggest free diving competition in the world, in which divers from different countries come to beat their individual records as well as world records. The competition is held every year in the Bahamas at Dean’s Blue Hole, a 663 feet sinkhole with no current.
The event didn't happen in 2020 but returned on July 13, 2021, for 10 days of competitions, during which these top 25 free divers in the world set new records, both nationally and internationally.
William Trubridge
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Country: New Zealand
World Record (Male): Constant Weight No Fins 102 m (334 ft)
National Record (Male): Free Immersion 124 m (406 ft)
* The Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) discipline involves the free diver descending and ascending into the water by swimming without the use of fins or without using a rope. Free Immersion (FIM) doesn't use fins either, but the diver can pull on a rope during descent and ascent. All reported stats came from the 2021 Vertical Blue competition, unless otherwise noted.
Alessia Zecchini
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Country: Italy
World Records (Female): Free Immersion 101 m (331 ft), Constant Weight No Fins 74 m (242 ft)
National Records (Female): Constant Weight 115 m (377 ft), Free Immersion 101 m (331 ft)
* The Constant Weight (CWT) discipline involves the free diver using fins or a monofin without the use of a rope during descent and ascent.
Alexey Molchanov
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Country: Russia
World Records (Male): Free Immersion 126m (413 ft), Constant Weight 131 m (429 ft), Constant Weight with Bifins 113 m (370 ft)
National Record (Male): Constant Weight No Fins 96 m (314 ft)
* The Constant Weight with Bifins (CWTB) discipline is the same as CWT but with bifins only, not a monofin.
Alenka Artnik
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Country: Slovenia
World Record (Female): Constant Weight with Fins 122 m (400 ft)
National Records (Female): Constant Weightwith Fins 122 m (400 ft), Constant WeightwithBifins 92 m (301 ft), Free Immersion 75 m (246), Constant Weight No Fins 54m (177 ft)
Sayuri Kinoshita
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Country: Japan
World Record (Female): Constant Weight100 m (328 ft)
* Unfortunately, Kinoshita didn't compete in this year's competition because she died in2019 in a non-diving-related accident, but she still holds the CWT world record for females.
Alice Modolo
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Country: France
World Record (Female): Constant Weight with Bifins 95 m(312 ft)
National Records (Female): Constant Weight with Bifins 95 m (312 ft), Constant Weight 100 m (328 ft)
Arnaud Jerald
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Country: France
National Record (Male): Constant Weight with Bifins 117 m (383 ft)
Walid Boudhiaf
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Country: Tunisia
National Records (Male): Constant Weight No Fins 78 m (255 ft),Constant Weight112 m (367 ft), Free Immersion 116 m (380 ft)
Thibault Guignes
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Country: France
National Record (Male): Free Immersion 117 m (383 ft)
Daniel Koval
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Country: United States
National Records (Male): Free Immersion 73 m (239 ft), Constant Weight 105 m (344 ft)
Hanako Hirose
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Country: Japan
National Record (Female): Constant Weight 106 m (347 ft)
Roberto Guzman
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Country: Mexico
National Record (Male): Constant Weight without Fins72 m (236 ft)
Alejandro Lemus
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Country: Mexico
National Records (Male): Free Immersion 98 m (321 ft), Constant Weight 106 m (351 ft)
Enchante Gallardo
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Country: United States of America
National Record (Female): Constant Weight with Bifins 81 m (265 ft)
Matthieu Duvault
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Country: Canada
National Record (Male): Constant Weight with Bifins83 m (272 ft)
Alex Davis
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Country: Barbados
National Records (Male):Constant Weight 92 m (301 ft), Free Immersion 81 m (269 ft), Constant Weight No Fins 76 m (249 ft)
Vincenzo Ferri
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Country: Italy
National Record (Male): Constant Weight with Bifins 104 m (341 ft)
Sheena McNally
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Country: Canada
National Records (Female):Constant Weight 91 m (298 ft), Constant Weight with Bifins 88 m (289 ft), Free Immersion 85 m (282 ft)
Ken Kiriyama
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Country: Japan
National Record (Male): Constant Weight No Fins 67 m (219 ft)
Camila Jaber
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Country: Mexico
National Record (Female): Constant Weight No Fins 58 m (190 ft)
Jung A Kim
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Country: Korea
National Records (Female):Constant Weight 85 m (278 ft), Free Immersion 81 m (265 ft), Constant Weight with Bifins 85 m (282 ft)
Sahika Ercumen
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Country: Turkey
National Records (Female): Constant Weight 89m (295 ft), Free Immersion 79m (262 ft), Constant Weight no Fins 53 m (177 ft), Constant Weight with Bifins 61 m (200 ft), 57m (187 ft)
Jennifer Wendland
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Country: Germany
World Record (Female): Constant Weight with Bifins 93m (305 ft)
Natalia Malchonova
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Country: Russia
World Record (Female): Static Apnea 9:02 minutes (record time holding breath underwater)
National Record (Female): Constant Weight No Fins 71 m (232 ft), Constant Weight 101 m (331 ft), Free Immersion 91 m (298 ft)
* Unfortunately, Malchonova didn't compete in this year's competition because she died in 2015, after disappearing on a dive.
Stéphane Mifsud
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Country: France
World Record (Male): Static Apnea 11:35 minutes