10 Polish medals at the 28th AIDA Freediving World Championships

During the concluded 28th AIDA Freediving World Championships in Burgas, the competitors set as many as 7 world records.

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June was a very intense month for freedivers. First the male and female competitors competed at the CMAS World Championships in Belgradeand then the competition moved to Bulgaria. In Burgas, during the 28th AIDA Freediving World Championships, Poles won as many as 10 medals!

The Polish national team once again proved that it belongs to the world’s top teams. Poles won a total of 10 out of 24 medals and two special awards named after Natalia Molchanova for the best female and male athlete of the World Championships. The icing on the cake was Julia Kozerska’s world record in DNF competition.

Queens of the 28th AIDA Freediving World Championships

Among women the best was Magdalena Solich-Talanda. Polish competitor won gold medal in DBF and DYN (third time in a row!) and silver in DNF. Her great disposition was appreciated and she received Natalia Molchanova award for the best athlete of the World Championships! Soon Magda will probably have to have a separate cabinet just for this one award. It is already the third time in a row that the judges have awarded her with this title.

The icing on the cake on the 2nd day of the championships was certainly the fantastic performance of Julia Kozerska in the DNF competition. The Pole covered the distance of 209 m, which allowed her to win the gold medal and set a new world record. The fact that it was the furthest distance among both men and women that day proves how spectacular the start was. A similar feat was previously achieved only by the legendary Natalia Molchanova, but it was in statics. Julia Kozerska added two more silver medals to her achievements in DYN and STA.

Part IV – A new hope

Among the men there were the best Polish athlete Mateusz Malina. This could have seriously reduced the chances of the Polish team to win medals, but as it turned out, these fears were greatly exaggerated.

A big surprise was Karol Karcz, for whom it was the fourth time he was in the Polish team. During the competition in Burgas Karol stood on the podium of the World Championships for the first time and won the bronze medal in the DYNB competition. However, it was not the end of his successful performances. The next day he swam 185 m and improved his personal best in DNF, which allowed him to win a silver medal!

In turn, 159 m was the distance achieved by Michal Bochenek, who finished on the lowest step of the podium and took the bronze medal for the Polish team.

After such an exhausting June, our athletes deserve (apart from compliments) a decent holiday. It is time to enjoy their successes with their nearest and dearest and to recharge their batteries in order to have strength and motivation for further training and competitions. Congratulations!

Photo: AIDA

No doubt Deepspot, the deepest pool in Europe, is a great place to start your freediving adventure. You can learn more about this facility from the article “Deepspot by night”, which Michał Antoniuk wrote for us. You will find it in the 16th issue of our the DIVERS24 quarterly magazine! The digital version of the magazine is available free of charge, while the printed version you can buy in our online shop.