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News AIDA Freediving
AIDA Freediving World Championships
The Blue Eye FX Productions film crew was again on hand to provide the media coverage for the 2009 AIDA Freediving World Championships in Long Island, Bahamas. This is the 2nd time Blue Eye FX has filmed an international freediving competition and it would be fair to say, the team has become the preferred choice to provide the stunning images of theses athletes in action.
The 2009 World Championships saw 51 divers from 17 countries participating in the competition. Athletes were required to nominate their intended dive depth before each event began. They must complete the dive by retrieving a Velcro tag fixed at the bottom of a weighted cable at the nominated depth and then return to the surface without blacking out.
The Blue Hole in Long Island proved to be perfect place for performance freediving. Calm, deep, warm waters just a few swim strokes from land. The number of athletes competing made it one of the smallest World Championships in recent history, but simultaneously it was one of the most successful in the sense of depths achieved and the number of National Record dives. World Records also fell with William Trubridge (New Zealand) and Natalia Molchanova (Russia) setting new marks in the men and women’s Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) categories.
The AIDA World Championships started with record depths demanded for a place in the final in CNF. Three French men announced the same depth—73 metres, which became the qualifying depth—forcing the organisation to include them all in the final.
The crowd on the beach witnessed multi-time world champion Herbert Nitsch (Austria) try for a CNF World Record depth of 89 metres, completing the dive in 3.40 minutes, but failing to deliver the correct surface protocol to the judges at the surface. Under AIDA rules, an athlete must correctly complete set surface protocols within fifteen seconds without losing consciousness in order for the dive to count.
It was no surprise that the ruling World Record holder, William Trubridge, 29, announced the deepest depth in the final. The plate was lowered to 90 metres depth, where no light penetrates. Trubridge beat his own record set last April by two metres. The dive took 3min 40sec and it is the third time he has broken this record in two years.
“This dive was a bigger psychological challenge than I have faced before in a record attempt because there were a lot of expectations,” said Trubridge, “but my training prior to the event had gone very well, and I was able to draw confidence from this to remain calm on the day.”
Canadian William Winram managed an impressive comeback, with an 80-metre dive in the heats, followed by 86 metres in the final, claiming the silver medal. Due to Alexey Molchanova’s blackout at the surface after an 83-metre dive, the Frenchman Guillaume Nery took the bronze with a 78-metre dive.
The women’s CNF World Champion, Natalia Molchanova, 47, was out of reach for the other competitors adding two metres to her own World Record, diving to 62 metres and returning in 3.15 minutes. Nikki Roderick, New Zealand, claimed silver with a 55-metre dive (coached by her partner the multiple world record holder Martin Štĕpánek). Jana Strain from Canada kept within her limits, not pushing it too far as has happened before, took the Bronze medal with a 54-metre dive coming up with blood from the sinuses.
But no one was as happy as Junko Kitahama finishing 4th with a 52-metre Japanese record (leaving her coach crying happy tears). Junko had progressed nearly 10 metres during her training week preceding the World Championship.
For the men competing in Constant Weight (CWT) category, not even an 80-metre dive with monofin was enough to make it into the top ten. One of the favorites, the Japanese Ryouzo Shinomiya, turned early at 90 metres and allowed Swede Johan Dahlström into the top six and the final.
In CWT, Nitsch was the best in the men’s finals, reaching 105m, ahead of Carlos Coste (Venezuela) 104m and Trubridge, who had reached 102m, but had one point deducted for failing to retrieve the tag.
In the women’s CWT heats, an early turn from Jana Strain left her out of the final, while Swede Klara Hansson made it into the top six, claiming one of many National Record-breaking dives performed during this World Championship.
The CWT finals held few surprises with the top placings. Sara Campbell did (for her) an easy dive to 92 metres to take the silver. Molchanova, for the first time in years, did not announce a World Record depth in a World Championship competition and claimed the gold medal after a 97-metre dive.
Jarmilla Slovencikova from Czech Republic managed a National Record of 74 metres and finished with the bronze. Japanese Misuzu Hirai broke two National Records in this competition and finished fourth with a dive to 72 metres.
The Blue Hole in Long Island proved to be perfect place for performance freediving. Calm, deep, warm waters just a few swim strokes from land. The number of athletes competing made it one of the smallest World Championships in recent history, but simultaneously it was one of the most successful in the sense of depths achieved and the number of National Record dives. World Records also fell with William Trubridge (New Zealand) and Natalia Molchanova (Russia) setting new marks in the men and women’s Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) categories.
The AIDA World Championships started with record depths demanded for a place in the final in CNF. Three French men announced the same depth—73 metres, which became the qualifying depth—forcing the organisation to include them all in the final.
The crowd on the beach witnessed multi-time world champion Herbert Nitsch (Austria) try for a CNF World Record depth of 89 metres, completing the dive in 3.40 minutes, but failing to deliver the correct surface protocol to the judges at the surface. Under AIDA rules, an athlete must correctly complete set surface protocols within fifteen seconds without losing consciousness in order for the dive to count.
It was no surprise that the ruling World Record holder, William Trubridge, 29, announced the deepest depth in the final. The plate was lowered to 90 metres depth, where no light penetrates. Trubridge beat his own record set last April by two metres. The dive took 3min 40sec and it is the third time he has broken this record in two years.
“This dive was a bigger psychological challenge than I have faced before in a record attempt because there were a lot of expectations,” said Trubridge, “but my training prior to the event had gone very well, and I was able to draw confidence from this to remain calm on the day.”
Canadian William Winram managed an impressive comeback, with an 80-metre dive in the heats, followed by 86 metres in the final, claiming the silver medal. Due to Alexey Molchanova’s blackout at the surface after an 83-metre dive, the Frenchman Guillaume Nery took the bronze with a 78-metre dive.
The women’s CNF World Champion, Natalia Molchanova, 47, was out of reach for the other competitors adding two metres to her own World Record, diving to 62 metres and returning in 3.15 minutes. Nikki Roderick, New Zealand, claimed silver with a 55-metre dive (coached by her partner the multiple world record holder Martin Štĕpánek). Jana Strain from Canada kept within her limits, not pushing it too far as has happened before, took the Bronze medal with a 54-metre dive coming up with blood from the sinuses.
But no one was as happy as Junko Kitahama finishing 4th with a 52-metre Japanese record (leaving her coach crying happy tears). Junko had progressed nearly 10 metres during her training week preceding the World Championship.
For the men competing in Constant Weight (CWT) category, not even an 80-metre dive with monofin was enough to make it into the top ten. One of the favorites, the Japanese Ryouzo Shinomiya, turned early at 90 metres and allowed Swede Johan Dahlström into the top six and the final.
In CWT, Nitsch was the best in the men’s finals, reaching 105m, ahead of Carlos Coste (Venezuela) 104m and Trubridge, who had reached 102m, but had one point deducted for failing to retrieve the tag.
In the women’s CWT heats, an early turn from Jana Strain left her out of the final, while Swede Klara Hansson made it into the top six, claiming one of many National Record-breaking dives performed during this World Championship.
The CWT finals held few surprises with the top placings. Sara Campbell did (for her) an easy dive to 92 metres to take the silver. Molchanova, for the first time in years, did not announce a World Record depth in a World Championship competition and claimed the gold medal after a 97-metre dive.
Jarmilla Slovencikova from Czech Republic managed a National Record of 74 metres and finished with the bronze. Japanese Misuzu Hirai broke two National Records in this competition and finished fourth with a dive to 72 metres.
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