Kim Dahlgren: From Setback to National Records

The road to national records is paved with setbacks.

By Jeremy Storton
Editor Deena Lynch

Dahlgren celebrates his White Card at the CMAS World Cup in Camotes 2025. © Ben Yavar.

As Kim Dahlgren prepared to descend the line at the CMAS World Cup on Camotes Island, he set his focus on anything besides what happened last year.

Dahlgren grew up in Nynäshamn, along the jagged coast south of Stockholm, Sweden. He spent his life in and under the water, which explains his sunbleached long brown hair. He carries the stature of a lifelong outdoor athlete and could pass for a blue commando in his wetsuit if it weren’t for his disarming smile.

However, a relaxed determination displaced his smile as he took his final inhale. Then he dove, focusing on what he had to do.

A year ago, during a 90m Free Immersion (FIM) attempt, he blacked out for the first time. That sowed a seed of doubt in the back of his mind and shadowed his dives for the rest of the season. Despite that temporary setback, this year he has focused more on consistency, building confidence, and momentum.

To eradicate any seeds of doubt, Dahlgren trained his mind as much as his body. “Pre-dive, there are nerves, doubts, anxiety, even a racing heart,” he said. “But I know that as soon as I dip below the surface, it all disappears. My body knows what to do and goes into auto mode.”

Moving forward to this year’s FIM attempt at the CMAS World Cup, he noticed he was feeling pretty good. He surfaced, recovered, and waited… that silence often can feel so long, but he finally did it. White card. Although he had set two national records earlier in the season, this dive was definitely the highlight. “Coming back and surfacing strong was a huge confidence boost,” he said, “I left that comp feeling sharper at depth, with dives that once felt intimidating starting to feel routine.”

The speed and the flow makes the monofin feel effortless. © Andac Kazar.

Dahlgren competes in all four depth disciplines. He admits specialization has its place, but for him, “being a great freediver is about being able to perform consistently across all of them. A complete freediver should be solid in every discipline.” However, he admits to having a favorite: Constant Weight with a monofin (CWT). “The speed, the flow of the motion, and how efficiently you can reach depth make it feel almost effortless,” he said, “ There’s a rhythm and strength to monofin dives that I really have started loving.”

Dahlgren celebrated more major milestones from the CMAS World Cup 2025 in the Philippines. “Breaking the CNF national record, a record that had stood untouched for 8 years, was special, especially since it wasn’t even on my radar this year.” He not only also completed his first 100m Constant Weight (CWT) dive, but he did it early in the season. It was, as he said, “something I’ve dreamed about for years, [and] was the perfect way to wrap up the first third of the comp season.”

Kim is feeling good on a FIM attempt after last year’s setback. © Ben Yavar.

While pushing his limits is a driving force, celebrating after wins is not. That isn’t to say he doesn’t celebrate, because he does. After a successful competition, you may likely find him celebrating with friends and throwing back an almond croissant… or three. However, his performances don’t always end in celebration because his focus is on the next dive, the next competition, or even taking a well-earned break with his diving community.

Dahlgren doesn’t necessarily believe in pre-dive rituals, but he has learned a few things that have helped him achieve his success.

1. He likes to stay mentally steady and perform even when things don’t go perfectly, such as moments of doubt or other unexpected challenges. “Resilience and adaptability are just as important as physical preparation.”
2. He is also a big advocate for visualization. On competition days, he’ll spend about 15-20 minutes running through dives in his head, including the boat ride, warm-ups, as well as the dive itself. He admits that distractions occur, “But that’s part of the process. It trains me to refocus when distractions happen, which is exactly what you need to perform in competition.”
3. He also learned that showing up early and entering the warmup zone before your set time doesn’t earn you bonus points, just a red card!*

*In accordance with competition rules, athletes can only enter the warmup zone at a set time before their official dive. Dahlgren misread the time, entered too early and was therefore disqualified.

Feeling good after a successful competition. © Andac Kazar.

After the CMAS World Cup on Camotes Island, Dahlgren spent time training and competing in Panglao, Philippines followed by Kalamata, Greece, training for the CMAS World Championships in Mytikas, and then competed in the AIDA World Championships in Cyprus. At CMAS, he set a new national record with 91 metres for FIM and a new personal best with 102 metres for CWT. At the AIDA WC, Dahlgren continued to challenge himself and upped the national record and his PB for FIM to 93 metres. After a well-earned break in October, he plans to compete in Dominica to wrap up his 2025 season.

His competitive nature drives him to push for better performance, but that’s not his only motivation; quite the opposite. When life and competition become too much, he still heads to the water to dive. “The dive itself is the calmest place I know,” he told us. “Your mind has to go blank, you’re fully present, and for those minutes, it’s just you and the water.”

Dahlgren looks forward to spending his winter off-season in Japan snowboarding and doing base training to prepare for next year’s depth competition.