Day 4 of the AIDA Depth World Championships in Cyprus saw Alexey Molchanov earn his 40th career world record with a successful dive in the Constant Weight with Bifins (CWTB) discipline.
Molchanov, competing as an independent athlete, dove to 126m/413ft for the AIDA world record, which matches Arnaud Gerald’s CMAS world record set earlier this year at Vertical Blue.
In an Instagram post, Molchanov writes:
“Every dive is a reminder of why I love this sport — and the people who make it possible…
“Appreciate everyone’s kind words and support! I’m very grateful to have such amazing and wholesome community by my side!
“Thanks to all my safety divers, coaches, friends and family during this record! The dive felt good! :)”
Joining Molchanov on the podium was France’s Abdelatif Alouach, who had a somewhat roundabout journey to getting second place.
Alouach successfully dove to 111m/364ft and performed a very quick surface protocol. While the on-water judgment of the surface protocol ended up as a red card, a subsequent video review had the judges reverse that decision, resulting in a silver medal for him.
The bronze medal went to Croatia’s Petar Klovar, who successfully dove to 107m/351ft.
National Records
Six new men’s national records were set, including:
- Omar Al Ghailani (Oman) – 106m/348ft
- Tommi Pasanen (Finland) – 92m/302ft
- Gonzalo Cortes Tavara (Peru) – 91m/299ft
- Marcell Bago (Hungary) – 80m/262ft
- Loizos Pafitis (Cyprus) – 72m/236ft
- Hans Hernandez (Costa Rica) – 65m/213ft
Red Cards
Not everyone had smooth dives, though.
South Korea’s Jihoon Jang dove to 102m/335ft, but was red carded for not completing his surface protocol and not keeping his airway out of the water.
Independent athlete Alexander Vinogradov dove to 101m/331ft, but was red carded at the surface for performing an incorrect protocol.
The USA’s Lawrence Paik dove to 100m/328ft but suffered a blackout while coming up at around the 45m/148ft mark. A safety diver with a scooter was able to pick him up, and he regained consciousness not long after surfacing. The deep blackout resulted in a delay while the medical staff tended to him.
Thailand’s Vootipong Limpanitivat also had 100m as a target, but during his ascent blacked out at around the 14m/46ft mark. The safety divers brought him to the surface and he regained consciousness quickly, resulting in no delay.
Check out the video recap and results below.
