I happened to be updating a web page of freediving records lately. The page was out of date and I found myself marveling at how far freediving has come since I started freediving in 2008.
Breath Holding World Record (Static Apnea)
In 2008, the year I started freediving, Tom Sietas was the man to beat in Static Apnea, setting two new world records. I remember hearing other freedivers marvel at how easy he made it look, coming up at the end of his holds like he had only been holding his breath for moments. For the women, Natalia Molchanova continued what has become a long period as the world record holder.
In 2009, Stephane Mifsud added more than a minute to the men’s WR time, destroying Tom’s previous record. Natalia added 23 seconds to her own WR.
No new records were set in 2010.
| Static World Records |
Men |
Women |
| 2008 |
9 minutes 15 seconds
Tom Sietas,
May 12
10:12 seconds
Tom Sietas,
June 7 |
2007 Record: 8:00 minutes
Natalia Molchanova |
| 2009 |
11 minutes 35 seconds
Stephane Mifsud,
June 8 |
8 minutes 23 seconds
Natalia Molchanova,
Aug 21 |
In Canada, Luc Gosselin and Mandy-Rae Cruickshank had held their national records since 2004. In 2009, Julie Bissaillon established the first new national static record in five years, upping the women’s record to 6 minutes and 53 seconds. Eric Fatah took a run at the men’s record in 2010 but fell short.
Dynamic Apnea
Natalia had been posting 200+ meter performances since 2006. In 2008 she raised the WR to 214 m. In 2010 she upped it again to 225 m.
In 2008 I had no idea that the world record for dynamic apnea was 244 m. I had no idea who Dave Mullins was. That changed in Sharm-el-Shiehk Egypt when I watched Dave hop into the pool a few minutes before his dynamic performance, swim 248 m underwater, perform a nice clean surface protocol and then hop out like it was nothing; piece of cake.
I had hardly ever tried a dynamic before that competition so I really did not know just how difficult a discipline dynamic is. Alexy Molchanov took the record away less than a month later and his 250 m world record lasted till I watched Frederic Sessa throw caution to the wind and reset the record to 265 m in Okinawa, 2010. Frederic’s WR would not stand for long as Dave Mullins reclaimed his top position in the world of dynamic apnea.
| Dynamic World Records |
Men |
Women |
| 2008 |
248 m
Dave Mullins,
September 10
250 m
Alexey Molchanov,
October 5 |
214 m
Natalia Molchanova |
| 2010 |
255 m
Frederic Sessa,
July 10
265 m
Dave Mullins,
Sept 2 |
225 m
Natalia Molchanova |
Canadian records are a ways behind the rest of the world. Jill Yoneda was the woman to beat in 2008 and reset the national record twice that year. In 2009 Jana Strain burst onto the scene and also reset the national record twice, ending up at 181 m. For the men, William Winram had been the only freediver setting new national dynamic records for years. However, the national record has not changed since William set it to 205 m late in 2008.
Constant Weight
Natalia Molchanova took top honours in CWT from Sara Campbell in 2008. Sara reclaimed the title in 2009, adding 1 m to Natalia’s 95 m.
The men have been setting new records in CWT at a frantic pace, often 1 m at a time, particularly in 2009. Herbert Nitsch has dominated the field, repeatedly setting new world records in CWT since 2007. Guillaume Néry reclaimed the WR in 2008, as did Martin Stepanek in 2009, but each time Herbert came back to reclaim the WR.
| Constant Weight World Records |
Men |
Women |
| 2008 |
113 m
Guillaume Néry,
July 3 |
95 m
Natalia Molchanova |
| 2009 |
114 m
Herbert Nitsch,
April 5
120 m
Herbert Nitsch,
April 11
122 m
Martin Stepanek,
April 11
123 m
Herbert Nitsch,
December 9 |
96 m
Sara Campbell,
April 2 |
| 2010 |
124 m
Herbert Nitsch,
April 22 |
|
In Canada the Constant Weight national records have been few and far between. Eric Fatah set the national record to 100 m in 2010, destroying William’s 2006 record of 84 m. Mandy-Rae Cruickshank has held the national record of 88 m since 2007.
Static Apnea, Dynamic Apnea and Constant Weight are the core disciplines in Canadian competition. Freedivers have been hard at work resetting other disciplines as well. I’ll cover those in a later post.
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