2026 CMAS World Championship Freediving Depth

The 2026 freediving competition season continues in Roatán, Honduras, with the 2026 CMAS World Championship Freediving Depth.

Sports Columnist: Asya Kleshchevnikova
Editor: Kristina Zvaritch

1. Preview of the World Championship
2. Day 1 (August 17): CWT Men
3. Day 2 (August 18): CWT Women
4. Day 3 (August 19): FIM Men
5. Day 4 (August 20): FIM Women
6. Day 5 (August 22): CNF Men
7. Day 6 (August 23): CNF Women
8. Day 7 (August 25): CWT-BF Men
9. Day 8 (August 26): CWT-BF Women

Preview Of The World Championship

Background

On August 15th, the freediving world’s competition season continues with the opening ceremony of the 2026 CMAS World Championship Freediving Depth. The organizers are the experienced Roatán Freediving School & Training Center managed by Esteban Darhanpe, who is hosting the CMAS World Championship for the third time. Previously, the CMAS World Championships took place at this location in 2019 and 2023.

Diving Conditions and Competition Schedule

Roatán is the largest of the Bay Islands, located in the Caribbean Sea approximately 65km (40 miles) off the northern coast of mainland Honduras. The island stretches about 59km (37 miles) from east to west and reaches a maximum width of 8 km (5 miles), covering an area of approximately 83km² (32 sq mi).

Roatán sits atop the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef—the second-largest coral reef system in the world. The island's population is approximately 110,000, with Coxen Hole serving as the capital and largest settlement.

West Bay is the beach where the event takes place. The diving platform is located 0.70 miles (5 minutes by boat) from the shore. Diving conditions there are favorable for athletes and relatively stable (for the open water):

• Air temperature: 25–30°C (77–86 °F)
• Water temperature: 27–29°C (80–84 °F)
• Thermocline (water temperature decrease): about 2°C at 100m (328ft)
• Currents: null to moderate
• Visibility: 24–40m (80–120ft)

The World Championship follows CMAS regulations (to learn more about the difference between CMAS and AIDA competitions, check out this article). Spanning eight competition days, athletes will showcase their skills in four different depth disciplines of competitive freediving: Constant Weight (CWT), Constant Weight with Bifins (CWT-BF), Free Immersion (FIM), and Constant Weight with No Fins (CNF).

Each athlete will have a single attempt to perform in each discipline. It is crucial for athletes to be mindful of their limits because, under CMAS rules, blacking out during a dive results in disqualification for at least 1 day (and, in more severe cases, from the rest of the competition).

To account for unpredictable weather conditions, the World Championship organizers have designated two reserve days. Additionally, there is a rest day in-between (which is particularly important for athletes competing in all four disciplines). The competition schedule is as follows:

August 15 - Official Training Men and Opening Ceremony
August 16 - Official Training Women
August 17 - Day 1: CWT Men
August 18 - Day 2: CWT Women
August 19 - Day 3: FIM Men
August 20 - Day 4: FIM Women
August 21 - Rest day
August 22 - Day 5: CNF Men
August 23 - Day 6: CNF Women
August 24 - Rest/Reserve Day
August 25 - Day 7: CWT-BF Men
August 26 - Day 8: CWT-BF Women, award ceremony and after-party

Daniel Arias Córdova has been appointed as the Event Head of Safety. Roberto Butera, Head of Safety for CMAS, will be responsible for ensuring full compliance with CMAS safety standards and protocols. From the bottom of our hearts, we wish the safety team luck in their challenging job of keeping the athletes safe.

Competing Athletes

The previous World Championship held at this location—the CMAS 7th Freediving Depth World Championship 2023—was a great success and has been written into freediving history. On August 21, 2023, Andrey Matveenko (INT) dived with a monofin at a depth of 134m and, over the past 11 years, became the first man other than Alexey Molchanov to set a world record in CWT. Andrey's record held only for several minutes, though, as Alexey was diving next and successfully reached 136m (446ft). To date, Alexey's 136m remains the absolute world record in CWT.

Andrey Matveenko passed away on November 11, 2025. The freediving community continues to mourn his loss.

Due to the location's remoteness and the late announcement of the Championship (on May 1, 2026, only 3.5 months before the event), the number of participating athletes is unusually low—about 80.

As a result, most of the top athletes among men are absent. On the bright side, we will see many new faces on the podium.

In 3 out of 4 disciplines, the main contender for the gold is Alexey Molchanov (INT). In Constant Weight (CWT) and Constant Weight with Bifins (CWT-BF), Alexey is the current absolute world record holder with the results of 136m (446ft) and 129m (423ft), respectively. His closest competitor in CWT, Pedro Tapia (MEX, PB 119m / 390ft), is 17m (56ft) behind. But we are at a loss to predict who might become third. In CWT-BF, the gap between Alexey and the next-closest athletes is even larger—24m (79ft). Francisco Quesada (ESP; PB 105m / 344ft), Pepe Salcedo (MEX; PB 105m), and Guillaume Bourdila (FRA; PB 103m / 338ft) will compete with each other for the silver and bronze.

In Free Immersion (FIM), the absolute world record of 137m (449ft) belongs to Petar Klovar (HRV). Petar no longer participates in CMAS competitions, so the main favorite in the discipline and the former world record holder with a PB of 133m (436ft) is Alexey Molchanov, while Piotr Kubiak (POL; PB 118m / 387ft) and Martin Ruman (SVK; PB 114m / 374ft) have the highest chances for silver and bronze.

Constant Weight with No Fins (CNF) is the only discipline among men with potential rivalry for the gold. In the absence of Petar Klovar—the legendary current absolute world record holder with a result of 103m (338ft)—Alexey Molchanov seems to, once again, be the main favorite with a PB of 100m (328ft). However, last year, Alexey announced a dive 1m (3ft) shallower than rising star Piotr Kubiak (PB 91m / 299ft). The latter won the gold with a result of 91m, and Alexey took the silver with 90m (295ft). The fight for bronze also seems promising, as three athletes have comparable PBs: Pedro Tapia (PB 89m / 292ft), Francisco Quesada (PB 86m / 282ft), and Samo Jeranko (SVN; PB 82m / 269ft).

Among women, we are missing Zsófia Törőcsik (HUN), the current absolute world record holder in FIM with a result of 107m (351ft), and Alenka Artnik (SVN), who shares the absolute world record in CWT of 123m (404ft) with Alessia Zecchini (ITA). Nonetheless, the female rivalry should be more intense than the male one.

In CWT and CWT-BF, Nataliia Zharkova (UKR) will be Alessia Zecchini’s main challenger for the gold. Nataliia’s PBs in these disciplines are 117m (384ft) and 112m (367ft), respectively. Alessia, meanwhile, holds both absolute World Records of 123m (404ft) and 113m (371ft). Kateryna Sadurska (UKR; CWT PB 107m / 351ft; CWTB PB 100m / 328ft) is the most likely contender for the bronze.

In CNF, by contrast, Kateryna is the unchallenged favorite, holding the current absolute world record of 88m (289ft). Alessia also had a world record in CNF of 74m (243ft), set 5 years ago, but it doesn’t seem like she has been training CNF lately, while Nataliia Zharkova (PB 70m / 230ft) and Maria Bobela (POL; PB 68m / 223ft) continue to improve their CNF results at competitions.

In FIM, the rivalry is again between the same Italian-Ukrainian pairing: Nataliia Zharkova (PB 106m / 348ft) and Alessia Zecchini (PB 104m / 341ft) will compete for the gold. Kateryna Sadurska (PB 97m / 318ft) and Linda Paganelli (ITA; PB 96m / 315ft) will vie for what remains.

That's it for us—let the show begin! You can support the athletes and cheer them on by watching the online broadcast available on CMASTV.

On all competition days, the first Top Time is scheduled for 8:45 am (UTC−6), which is around 5 pm in Europe and 11 pm in Asia. If you miss the dives, don't worry; we've got you covered. Just check our daily competition reports and congratulate athletes in the comments!