In the wake of a shaky surface protocol by the absolute world record holder, two Ukrainian women nabbed the gold and silver medals in the Free Immersion (FIM) discipline on Day 4 of the CMAS Depth World Championships in Mytikas, Greece.
Italy’s Alessia Zecchini, the current absolute women’s world record holder in the FIM discipline had declared the deepest target among the competitors at 102m/335ft, and she successfully reached that depth but upon surfacing couldn’t quite keep her head above water without the aid of the safety divers, earning a red card while smiling.
In a post-dive Instagram post, Zecchini, who had won silver in the Constant Weight with Fins (CWT) discipline a couple days earlier, wrote:
“Yesterday I lived a wonderful dive: 102 meters where every single moment felt pure, deep, unforgettable.
“And yet, inexplicably, the surfacing was tight, and as I immersed my airways I received a red card.
“An incredible dive that left me with sadness, frustration, and incomprehension.
“But today is a new day.
“The beautiful words of comfort I received from amazing people have helped me reflect and regain strength.
“The World Championship isn’t over: the sea is waiting for me, and I can’t wait to be embraced by it again.”
With Zecchini out of contention, eyes turned elsewhere to see where the Gold Medal would go to.
Ukraine’s Natalia Zharkova and Kateryna Sadurska both were vying for dives to 101m/331ft, and Zharkova came out on top with a clean, successful dive, earning her her second Gold medal at this competition, while Sadurska was assessed a penalty due to her early turn at 98m/322ft. Spain’s Isabel Sanchez came in third place with a successful dive to 92m/302ft.
In an Instagram post, Sadurska wrote:
“A few days ago I had a funny dream, where I’ve been swimming butterfly, feeling super strong, enjoying my power and I finished second, missing the touch.
“But then I realized I was swimming in the jeans all this time, which created so much drag, and all I had to do is just to take them off, which was hard to, as I was busy swimming.
“This is a great representation of what I’ve been experiencing for the last few weeks here in Greece after coming from China.
“Took me some time to cry it out, then some time to train, then some time to accept that it’s not much time left, and there’s very little chance for the miracle to happen.
“But today I’m happy to come back closer to my depth, not only in terms of numbers, but feeling and mindset. Happy to dive with my heart open and to feel the trust to the life again (at least more often).
“Happy to share the Ukrainian podium at the World Championship with @nat_freediver, who won her second gold today.
“Happy I didn’t withdraw from this comp as I wanted to a few days ago and keep learning how to stay myself in all this chaos (I will write more about this part later) but for now I just want to thank everyone for support in this pretty interesting journey, looking forward to discover what’s next.”
New Masters World Record
The Masters M1 Women category saw the UK’s Helena Bourdillon claim the gold with a 65m/213ft dive, with the USA’s Natsuko Saito nabbing silver with her 45m/148ft dive. Japan’s Junko Kitahama brought home the bronze, despite an early turn at 53m/174ft instead of reaching her declared depth of 65m/213ft.
For the Men’s M1+M2 category, Russia’s Andrei Zhdanov — diving as an independent athlete — set a new World Record with a 97m/318ft dive. Switzerland’s Christian Langer brought home the silver with an 89m/292ft dive, while Poland’s Tomasz Polata earned the bronze with his 87m/285ft dive.
Check out the full results below or watch the recaps of each competition day at cmas.org.
