CMAS 8th World Championship Freediving Depth
Asya Kleshchevnikova, Sports Columnist
Head of Customer Service & International Sales
asya@molchanovs.com
molchanovs.com
Kristina Zvaritch
Editor
1. Preview of the World Championship
2. Day 1 (October 4): CWT - Men
3. Day 2 (October 5): CWT - Women
4. Day 3 (October 6): FIM - Men
5. Day 4 (October 7): FIM - Women
6. Day 5 (October 9): CNF - Men
7. Day 6 (October 10): CNF - Women
8. Day 7 (October 11): CWTB - Men
9. Day 8 (October 12): CWTB - Women
Preview of the World Championship
Background
The CMAS 8th World Championship Freediving Depth starts on October 3 with an opening ceremony in the captivating Greek city of Kalamata.
Kalamata will host the CMAS World Championship for the first time; however, it is already familiar with large freediving events. In 2011 and 2013, the AIDA Freediving World Championships took place here. Also, in 2016, the last-to-date AIDA Team World Championship was held in Kalamata.
The Championship has every chance to become the biggest and most representative event in recent freediving history. Over 130 athletes announced their participation in all age categories, and the official organizers and two local freediving schools are hardly managing with the increased number of athletes for pre-competition training.
Diving conditions and competition schedule
Kalamata is attractive for freedivers because of its diving conditions (one of the best in the Mediterranean Sea!), convenient logistics, variety of accommodations, and, of course, its cuisine.The current diving conditions are as follows:
- Air temperature: 25 - 27°C (77 - 81°F)
- Water temperature: from 25°C (77°F) on the surface to 17 - 19°C (63 - 66°F) at 15m (49ft)
- Visibility: 20 - 30m (66 - 98ft)
- No current
- No waves
- Maximum depth: 160m (525ft)
- October 3 - Opening Ceremony
- October 4 - Constant Weight with Monofin (CWT) - Men
- October 5 - Constant Weight with Monofin (CWT) - Women
- October 6 - Free Immersion (FIM) - Men
- October 7 - Free Immersion (FIM) - Women
- October 8 - Day off / Backup day
- October 9 - Constant Weight without Fins (CNF) - Men
- October 10 - Constant Weight without Fins (CNF) - Women
- October 11 - Constant Weight with Bifins (CWTB) - Men
- October 12 - Constant Weight with Bifins (CWTB) - Women
An awards ceremony and evening closing ceremony will be held at the end of the Championship on October 12.
Competing athletes
The number of current and former world record holders in Kalamata is sky-high. The competition promises to be as hot as ever - trust us, you don't want to miss the show!
Judge for yourself. Among the men, all current and former world record holders are going to compete. Among the women, we are only missing the current and former AIDA World Record holders in FIM, Fatima Korok (HUN) and Sanda Delija (HRV), respectively. Mirela Kardašević (HRV), who once held the World Record in CNF, also isn't present at the Championship.
Nonetheless, the competition among women is intense and can cause some unexpected outcomes. First of all, we are happy to welcome back at the Championship the starry Alessia Zecchini (ITA), who skipped the 2023 competition season due to back surgery. Despite the fact Alessia didn't participate in the Championship 2023, she is still the absolute World Record holder in CWT with a performance of 123m / 404ft (AIDA OCEANQUEST PHILIPPINES 2023) and FIM with 104m / 341ft (CMAS Camotes Freediving Challenge 2024).
In CWT, Alessia is closely followed by Alenka Artnik (SVN), whose personal best (PB) and previous world record in the discipline is just 1m (3ft) shallower than Alessia's. If Alessia and Alenka don’t play it too risky on the first competition day and avoid exceeding their limits, then Hanako Hirose (JPN), Chiara Obino (ITA), and Marianna Gillespie (INT) may only hope for a bronze medal. Their PBs are 111m (364ft), 107m (351ft), and 103m (338ft), respectively.
However, in FIM, Alessia has a significant gap of 7m (23ft). Kateryna Sadurska (UKR) has the second overall competition PB of 97m (318ft) in the discipline at the Championship. That performance brought Kateryna a gold medal at the 2023 Championship. At this current Championship, Katerina would be lucky to win a silver. She has two strong competitors with close results of 96m (315ft) and 95m (312ft) - Linda Paganelli (ITA) and Enchante Gallardo (USA).
In CNF, on the other hand, Kateryna is 4m (13ft) ahead of Alessia. Last year, Kateryna updated CNF world record 4 times - 3 times at Vertical Blue 2023 and 1 time at CMAS 7th Freediving Depth World Championship 2023 - from 74m (243ft) to 78m (256ft). It's not likely that Kateryna will give up the world record and championship title in this discipline. Maria Bobela Klovar (POL) and Enchante Gallardo (USA), who have close PBs of 66m (217ft) and 65m (213ft), respectively, will compete for bronze.
The Championship will end with the same way it will start - with a thrilling rivalry between Alessia and Alenka in another fin discipline - CWTB. But with bifins, Alenka is 2m (7ft) ahead of Alessia and holds the absolute World Record of 111m (364ft) in the discipline. Marianna Gillespie (FRA), with a PB of 100m (328ft) and Alice Modolo (FRA), with a 96m (315ft) PB, will compete for the bronze.
Among the men, there is also one athlete with absolute World Records in two disciplines. You would never guess - it's Alexey Molchanov (INT). In CWT, Alexey, with a performance of 136m (446ft), is 2m (7ft) ahead of Andrey Metveenko, whose result is 134m (440ft), reached at the CMAS 7th Freediving Depth World Championship 2023. If Alexey and Andrey manage to decide who is the first and who is the second without any blackouts, then Davide Carrera (ITA; PB - 130m / 427ft), Arnaud Jerald (FRA; PB - 126m / 413ft), and Mateusz Malina (POL; PB - 123m / 404ft) may only hope for a bronze in CWT.
In CWTB, Alexey Molchanov’s gap is a bit bigger but also not significantly so: 4m (13ft) divide Arnaud Jerald from a new absolute world record in the discipline. Alexey's result is 125m (410ft), and Arnauds' - 123m (404ft). The third may be Abdelatif Alouach (FRA, PB of 119m / 390ft), Mateusz Malina (POL, PB of 113m / 371ft), or Andrey Matveenko (INT, PB of 112m / 367ft).
The most unpredictable competition among the men awaits us in FIM and CNF. In FIM, Petar Klovar (POL) holds the current absolute World Record of 135m (443ft). Alexey is a former World Record holder in FIM, with a result of 133m (436ft). But Alexey is dreaming about the CNF record and might even skip FIM to have enough rest before his most complicated performance. Yet, Mateusz Malina, whose PB is 127m (417ft), has dived 130m (427ft) in training. Is he preparing to overtake the FIM World Record? Besides, the mysterious William Trubridge (NZL; PB 124m / 407ft, who also once held world records in FIM) is also present at the Championship. Hopefully, William won't change his mind and make it to the line to impress us with a very deep dive or even a new world record.
Yet, the most anticipated performance among the men are saved for CNF day. William is the current absolute World Record holder in the discipline since 2016, when he dived to 102m (335ft) during an AIDA Individual World Record Attempt. Alexey currently holds only the CMAS World Record in CNF with 100m (328ft), reached during CMAS 7th Freediving Depth World Championship 2023. The following athletes may also hope for a medal: Petar Klovar (HRV; PB 95m / 312ft), Mateusz Malina (POL; PB 90m / 295ft), Francisco Quesada (PB 86m / 282ft), and Vitomir Maričić ( HRV, PB 84m / 276ft).
And this is how the show begins! Who are you rooting for?
What’s next?
Each day of the Championship, we’ll post official links to the online broadcasts so you can find them easily. If you don't have time to watch the broadcast - don't worry! We'll watch for you and write detailed reports on all the notable performances.Stay tuned and make sure you catch our updates.
If you want more information on freediving competitions and how to watch them to get ready for this year’s Championship, make sure you check our competition guides:
- International Freediving Federations You Need to Know: CMAS vs. AIDA
- How to Make Sense of a Freediving Competition Broadcast
- Current CMAS and AIDA Freediving World Records
Day 1 (October 4): CWT - Men
The setup
October 4, in Kalamata, Greece, was the first competition day of the CMAS 8th World Championship Freediving Depth. Men and women are competing on different days, and the men started first with the deepest discipline: Constant Weight with Fins (CWT). The first start was delayed for 30 minutes due to weather conditions, but then the competition went on as planned.
There were many early turns but not so many red cards, considering the number of participants. Yet, 2 out of 6 red cards were given for blackouts deeper than 15m (49ft). Unfortunately, these athletes are disqualified until the end of the Championship.
In short:
- 68 athletes participated
- Realized depths ranged from 32m - 135m (105 - 443ft)
- 6 red cards were given
- 19 yellow cards were issued
- 15 new CMAS National Records were gained (all with pending status until doping control results are finalized)
- 3 new CMAS World Records were gained in Masters 60+ category and Para freediving (with pending status until doping control results are finalized)
The Deepest
Our prediction of the top three athletes turned out to be very wrong. However, the only fact you can't mistake is that Alexey Molchanov (INT) is the deepest man. He announced a 135m (443ft) dive - just 1m (3ft) shallower than his current absolute World Record in CWT - and conquered it. This time, no one could rival Alexey; the nearest competitor had a 14m (46ft) shallower announcement. And eventually, the first and second places were divided by 17m (56ft). Yet, there was an impression that Alexey surfaced a little too close to his limits in the discipline; most likely, the athlete didn't train with the monofin much this season. Nonetheless - congratulations, incomparable Alexey, we didn't doubt you for a second!
Missed chances
Mateusz Malina (POL) made the second deepest announcement of 122m (400ft). Andrey Matveenko (INT), who managed to set a World Record in CWT by diving to 134m (440ft) last year, made the third deepest announcement - 121m (397ft).
Mateusz didn't reach the target and turned at a depth of 114m (374ft) - a yellow card and 5th place in the discipline ranking. Andrey, on the contrary, grabbed a tag from the bottom plate. 121m (397ft) depth seemed to be a rather conservative announcement for Andrey - 13m (43ft) shallower than his competition personal best. But several days before the dive, Andrey had a deep blackout, and a day before the dive - a fever. Apparently, the athlete wasn't in his best shape, and right after the touchdown, he started to lose the line, influenced by narcosis. At a depth of 25m (82ft), Andrey completely lost orientation and was delivered to the surface by the safety team while unconscious. Alas, the Championship is over for him.
The silver and the bronze
Emmanouil Giankos (GRE), an experienced athlete and spearfisher who has competed for more than twenty years, announced a 118m (387ft) dive. He confidently completed the dive and became a Vice-Champion - congratulations, Manolis! Another long-liver of competitive freediving - Davide Carrera (ITA) - announced a 116m (381ft) dive. His personal best result is 130m (427ft). This year, he even tried to beat Alexey's World Record by diving to 137m (450ft) but sadly blacked out. So, the 116m (381ft) announcement seemed as a quite modest one for Davide. He completed the dive easily and won the bronze. Congratulations, Davide!
Notable performances
We couldn’t miss the long-awaited performance of William Trubridge (NZL), the legendary world record holder in CNF, who hasn't performed at the World Championships for a while. This time, he announced a modest dive of 106m (348ft), while his personal best result is 122m (400ft). Instead of a monofin, William decided to use a pair of bifins of his personal brand. Alas, the athlete didn't reach the target depth and turned at a depth of 103m (338ft).
Simultaneously, with the senior athletes, men from several master's categories compete. The athletes of the Masters 70+ category, Japec Jakopin (SVN) and Sauveur Lococo (FRA), announced 83m (272ft) and 82m (269ft) dives, respectively.
Unfortunately, Japec had to turn early at a depth of 67m (220ft), and Sauveur experienced a light blackout at the surface. Both were still impressive dives!
And we should celebrate a Para Freediving World Record set by Alexander Kusakin (INT), who dived to a depth of 46m (151ft). Alexander, who has lost both legs, performed the dive using bifins attached to prostheses. What spirit - congratulations, Alexander!
Once again - congratulations to all the athletes! Thank you all for the beautiful performances, emotions, and inspiration - it was an incredible day! And now we’re all ready to see the CWT competition among the women, who have made several remarkable announcements.
Stay tuned!
Day 2 (October 6): CWT - Women
The setup
The second competition day of the CMAS 8th World Championship Freediving Depth, originally planned for October 5, was moved to October 6 due to weather conditions. Unexpectedly, especially for Kalamata, there was strong wind and rain on the previous day, so the starts were cancelled. For this shift, the day off planned for October 8 was used. From here on, we hope the weather will be favorable for freedivers and that everything goes according to schedule, as no other day off is left for an emergency.
As the results show, the women were traditionally more thoughtful with their announcements - only three red cards and no deep blackouts. 5 out of 7 athletes who announced 100m+ (328ft+) dives received white cards. We must draw your attention to the elegant and efficient technique of the women from the 100m+ club. If you missed the broadcast, take some time to watch the recording - it's a specific type of art!
In short:
- 50 athletes participated
- Realized depths ranged from 38m - 116m (125 - 381ft)
- 3 red cards were given
- 11 yellow cards were issued
- 12 new CMAS National Records were gained (all with pending status until doping control results are finalized)
- 2 new CMAS World Records were gained in Masters 50+ and Masters 70+ categories
The gold
Alenka Artnik Burghardt (SVN) announced the deepest announcement of the day - 116m (381ft). This is 8m (26ft) shallower than Alenka's personal best and the previous world record in the discipline (122m / (400ft); Vertical Blue 2021 CMAS). Yet, the dive appeared to be challenging for the athlete - Alenka surfaced very close to her limits. Nonetheless, she restrained herself and managed the surface protocol - a white card! This is Alenka's 5th year in a row as the world champion in CWT. Congratulations, Wonder Woman!
The silver
But we must say that the true hero of the day became Hanako Hirose (JPN). In 2018, Hanako mastered 106m (348ft) depth. Yet, since then, that dive remained her personal best, as the following competition seasons were not very successful for her. But with an admirable persistence, Hanako kept trying, and several days before the Championship, she reached an astonishing 111m (364ft) of depth at a competition in Japan. She made a 2m (7ft) deeper announcement for her Championship performance and successfully reached the end of the line. However, influenced by narcosis, Hanako missed the bottom plate and spent a very long 20 seconds at depth looking for the plate and the tag. We assume the safety team was already preparing to launch the counter ballast system to rescue the tag... But eventually, the tag was found by Hanako, the audience resumed breathing, and she headed back to the surface.
Surprisingly, Hanako looked very strong and fresh on the surface, as if she still had a reserve to dive even deeper. She smoothly completed the protocol and received a white card. Congratulations, Hanako, on well-deserved silver and a new CMAS National Record for Japan!
The bronze
Unexpectedly, the third announcement of 109m (358ft) belonged to the current absolute World Record holder in the discipline - Alessia Zecchini (123m / 404ft), AIDA OCEANQUEST PHILIPPINES, 2023). The athlete is most likely still recovering from last year's back surgery and made a modest announcement expecting not-so-favorable weather conditions. Several meters before the surface, Alessia was affected by narcosis and lost the line; then, at the surface, she was attempting to remove her goggles for several seconds rather than starting the protocol. Eventually, the goggles were off, and the protocol was made in time - another white card! Congratulations, Alessia - it's great to have you back!
The fourth
Kateryna Sadurska (UKR) and Marianna Gillespie (FRA) both announced 103m (338ft) dives, aiming for fourth place in the discipline ranking. Kateryna seemingly effortlessly completed the dive. This didn't come as a surprise, as she is the current absolute World Record holder in CNF (78m / 256ft; CMAS 7th Freediving Depth World Championship 2023). Kateryna is probably limited only by equalization, as she obviously has a significant resilience to hypoxia.
Unfortunately, Marianna's dive didn't go as smoothly. A month ago, at the 33rd AIDA Freediving World Championship, Marianna became the World Champion in CWT, diving to a depth of 100m (328ft). This time, Marianna turned early at a depth of 98m (322ft) but blacked out at the surface regardless. Get well soon, Marianna!
Congratulations to all the athletes - one discipline is over and we are now ready to watch the men compete in FIM on October 7!
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