First Day of the 30th AIDA World Championship

The first competition day of the 30th AIDA World Championship was June 12, 2023, in Jeju, South Korea.

This event is already a huge success, hosting the largest number of freediving athletes at an AIDA World Championship in AIDA’s history with 146 athletes from 30 countries competing on the first day. The first event of the competition was Dynamic Bifins (DYNB), a discipline where the freediver swims underwater while holding their breath for the longest possible distance with the assistance of bifins. It is the newest freediving discipline, added to the line-up in 2018. The current women’s AIDA World Record is held by Magdalena Solich Talanda of Poland with a distance of 243m.

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It was a great first day of the four-day competition. The atmosphere in the pool was loud and supportive with many teams bringing many more athletes than in previous years. There were also many new teams competing for the first time.

The opening day continued breaking precedent with many new records broken on the opening day:

Women’s AIDA Continental Records:

• Oceania: 177m – Suzanne Malseed (New Zealand)
• Africa: 232m – Bevin Reynolds (South Africa)
• South America: 175m – Nara Martins Ishikawa (Brazil)
• Asia: 220m – Mai Morimura (Japan)

Men’s AIDA Continental Records:

• Oceania: 236m – Benjamin Eckert (Australia)

Women’s AIDA world championships National Records:

• Philippines: 167m – Tracy Roxanne
• Czech Republic: 164m – Zuzana Reitingerova
• Sweden: 208m – Paula Johnsson
• Indonesia: 154m – Safir Abadi
• Japan: 220m – Mai Morimura
• Malaysia: 177m – Syafidatul Azua Shafii
• Hong Kong: 156m – Chelsea Mo
• Finland: 172m – Janita Kulkula
• Chinese Taipei: 208m – Yu Fang Liu
• Germany: 200m – Heike Schwerdtner
• South Korea: 206m – Binna Kang

Men’s AIDA World Championships National Records:

• Indonesia: 173m – Ernaldo Sanyoto
• Singapore: 232m – Xingqiang Fu
• United Kingdom: 208m – Adam Drzazga
• Hong Kong: 200m – Lap Hing (Chris) Cheung
• Philippines: 188m – Nico Guzman
• Finland: 202m – Olavi Paananen
• Italy: 206m – Federico Buzzoni
• Spain: 227m – Inaki Santos

Women’s Podium:

• Bevin Reynolds (South Africa) – 232m
• Mai Morimura (Japan) – 220m
• Julia Kozerska (Poland) – 219m

Men’s Podium:

• Yi (Zy) Zhang (China) – 267m
• Mikhail Briantcev (International) – 256m
• Aleksandr Maksimov (International) – 254m

In total, this was a record-breaking first day for the AIDA’s pool world championships and we are looking forward to more records being broken as the competition continues this week.

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AIDA, the International Association for the Development of Apnea, is the global governing body for the sport of freediving. Founded in 1992, AIDA’s primary objective is to promote and develop the discipline of freediving worldwide, ensuring safety standards, organizing competitions, and providing education and certification for freedivers, instructors, and judges.

Throughout its history, AIDA has played a crucial role in the growth and recognition of freediving as a competitive sport. The organization has established a comprehensive set of rules and guidelines, created a ranking system for athletes, and facilitated numerous national and international freediving events. By fostering a community of passionate freedivers, AIDA continues to contribute to the sport’s evolution and expansion.