The Japanese ladies continue to dominate at the OriginECN Vertical Blue Freediving Competition, this time it’s the turn of Hanako Hirose to break the Constant Weight (CWT) World Record, by diving to 106m. The record was set under AIDA International rules.
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In a breathtaking dive where she looked to be struggling with equalization during the early part of the descent, however seemingly pushed through and reached the bottom. On the ascent, she seemed to slow to almost a crawl in the last 25m and at certain points, it looked certain that she would have to be assisted by the safety divers. However, she completed the surface protocol successfully for a white card and cheers from the crowds.
The depth means that Hanako is the sole holder of the World Record after earlier in the week Alenka Artnik (Slovenia) successfully dived to equal the world record that Alessia Zecchini (Italy) had set earlier in the year.
The athlete will now go through WADA Anti-Doping tests and all footage will be reviewed by the judges later today. Once both those things are completed the record will be made officially announced, however as we have seen in this competition there is always a chance the video review will throw up a reason for the judges to reconsider the dive.
Feature photo by Alex St-Jean
