Alice Hickson has set a new UK national record in the Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) Freediving discipline in Larnaca, Cyprus at the Infinity Depth Games on Sunday October 13th.
Hickson swam down a measured rope to 57 meters/187 feet, collected a tag from the bottom plate and returned to the surface to receive a white card validating her dive from the AIDA International Judges — holding her breath for a total of two minutes and thirty-six seconds.
The previous record (set by Sara Campbell at 56 meters/184 feet in October 2007) has not been improved upon until now by Hickson.
Hickson is a thirty-year-old mental health practitioner, originally from Doncaster and based in Bristol. In her spare time, as well as trying to fit in her freedive training, she teaches children with special needs how to swim. Hickson holds all of the records in the pool freediving disciplines, and having set her sights on depth just this year, has already won the 2019 UK female national depth championships, organized by Saltfree Divers in Chepstow.
According to Hickson:
“This is my first time at the Infinity Depth Games (IDG) organized by Pavlos Kourtellas, Costas Costantinou and Nicole Karsera, and first time training in warm water! I got here a week ago and each day has been amazing. The set-up is fantastic and the IDG team and volunteers go above and beyond to make everyone feel comfortable, calm and welcome. There’s a great atmosphere between all the other athletes too.
“The past week I’ve focused on CNF as I’ve not had chance to do this in the cold quarry back home and it’s probably my favorite discipline. I love the freedom of no fins (and it’s one less thing to carry and forget!). The dive felt amazing and it was the icing on the cake to break the long-standing record. The most important thing for me is to enjoy the dive and I loved every second. It’s so much easier to put in a good performance when you know you’re surrounded by beautiful, kind people who want you to do well!
“I would like to thank all of the organizers, safety, AIDA judges, friends and athletes for their support, well wishes and kindness. In particular, Beci Ryan for epic coaching, Georgina Miller for all of the love, Daan Verhoeven for top tips and encouragement, Francesca for wise words, Liam Abel of 2971 for an amazing kit and Giorgos Sakkas for a great suit and support. Looking forward to discovering what else I can do.”
(Photo credits: Daan Verhoeven)
