The penultimate day of OriginECN Vertical Blue has drawn to a close and what a nailbiting day it way. The day started with a potential 9 National Records and 2 World Records on the starting line up!
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The women were on the slate for the world records today – Alessia Zecchini (Italy) was diver number 2 of the day and lined up to reclaim her Free Immersion (FIM) record off Sayuri Kinoshita (Japan) with a dive of 96m. This would put a clear two meters on the current record hopefully sealing it for Zecchini this competition.
Zecchini took to the line and completed a lovely clean performance for white cards from the judges, after a 3min 50sec dive time, much to the delight of the assembled crowds onsite and online.
Next up later in the day was Hanako Hirose (Japan) who was looking to leap over Alessia Zecchini (Italy) and Alenk Artnik (Slovenia) who share the Constant Weight (CWT) world record at 105m.
The dive itself was breathtaking as Hirose 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 wild cheers from the crowds.
The depth means that Hanako is the sole holder of the CWT World Record now.
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Wednesday had 9 announced National Records of which 3 were successful:
- Michael Board (Great Britain) with 111m Constant Weight (CWT)
- Martin Zajac (Slovakia) with 60m Constant Weight No-Fins (CNF)
- Gus Kreivenas (Lithuania) with 56m Constant Weight No-Fins (CNF)
Official full results are available below (click to enlarge):
Two onsite photographers – Daan Verhoeven and Alex St-Jean – are capturing the action during each day! Check out some of the action from Day 8 below (click to see them in full screen):
The competition will be live-streamed by the underwater drone Diveye and broadcast via the Vertical Blue Facebook Page and across social media with the hashtag #VB2018.
Stay tuned to DeeperBlue.com as we bring you coverage from the event.
Feature photo by Alex St-Jean
