F.R.E.E. is happy to announce that on June 22nd, at 11:00 AM, in the waters of Bodrum, a town located in the Southwest part of Turkey, a new Freediving World Record was established. Topi Lintukangas, a 29 year-old world class triathlete from Finland set a new record in the Unassisted Constant Ballast category for men. Mr. Lintukangas reached a depth of 48 meters/157 feet in a total dive time of 1:38 minutes. This dive improves on the previous record of 47 meters/154 feet that was held by David Lee.The record was verified by F.R.E.E. judges Erman Akarsu (Australia) and Arthur Zaloga (Lithuania). Mr. Akarsu acted as surface judge where he verified compliance with all surface procedures and received the confirmation tag from the diver, and Mr. Zaloga was positioned at the goal depth where he witnessed the confirmation tag retrieval and verified compliance with all underwater procedures.
Mr. Lintukangas had been invited to Turkey by freediver Yasemin Dalkilic, a 6 time record holder, who was preparing for an attempt in the Unassisted category herself. Unfortunately, Ms. Dalkilic had health problems which prevented her from successfully completing her record attempt. F.R.E.E. wishes to congratulate Topi Lintukangas on his performance, which was achieved after an eventful warm-up period, for the control, maturity and athletic excellence exhibited during his dive. With this record, he has given his country its first freediving world record ever, and which we hope will be only the start of a distinguished career. F.R.E.E. also wishes to thank Ms. Dalkilic for her generosity in providing all the needed conditions for a new diver to attempt a world class performance, a gesture that is definitely needed in the world of freediving. We also wish Ms. Dalkilic a quick recovery and a return to top shape.
