Day 6 of the Vertical Blue 2022 freediving competition at Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas saw six new national records set, along with a continental record.
RELATED: Vertical Blue 2022: Everything You Need To Know
China’s Potti Lau Continental Record
China’s Potti Lau dove to 93m/305ft in the Constant Weight with Bifins (CWTB) discipline for a continental and national record.
RELATED: Freediving Disciplines Explained
Six More National Records Set
Elsewhere on the men’s side, Poland’s Mateusz “Matt” Malina added a third national record to his haul with a Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) dive to 90m/295ft. Stefan Randig nabbed a German national record CNF dive of 77m/253ft.
As for the women’s national records, Spain’s Isabel Sanchez-Aran dove to 74m/243ft in the Constant Weight with Monofin (CWT) discipline. Turkey’s Sahika Ercumen completed a 57m/187ft CNF dive. The USA’s Enchante Gallardo set a national CWT record with an 87m/285ft dive, and Camila Jaber nabbed a Mexican national record with an 80m/262ft CWTB dive.
Some Had Challenging Dives
Event organizer William Trubridge of New Zealand, who, like many of the athletes, was competing under the “One Ocean” flag, was going for a 120m/394ft Free Immersion (FIM) dive but suffered a blackout.
Some of the other national record attempts also didn’t succeed.
For the men, Peru’s Juan Valdivia was scheduled to extend his CWTB record to 71m/233ft but didn’t start. Mexico’s Pepe Salcedo was gunning for a 106m/348ft CWTB dive but suffered a blackout.
As for the women, Colombia’s Sofia Gomez was going for 61m/200ft in the CNF discipline but drew a red card for pulling. China’s Jessea Lu had declared an 89m/292ft CWT dive but only managed 76m/249ft.
Remembering Carla Sue Hanson
During the second camera break, athletes, safeties, organizers, and judges all gathered to celebrate the life of Carla Sue Hanson – the former president of AIDA International – whose ashes were scattered at Dean’s Blue Hole in celebration of her life.
DeeperBlue.com Publisher Stephan Whelan provided a short eulogy that was read out to those onsite and on the live stream by Editor-at-Large Francesca Koe in a highly emotional moment for many.
Everyone dove to 10m, and event organizer William Trubridge released the ashes.
Full Day 6 Results
Monday is a rest day, with the competition resuming with Act 3 on Tuesday.
Check out the full results from Vertical Blue Day 6 below.
Photos of Day 6
You can check out our gallery of photos courtesy of Daan Verhoeven below.
Vertical Blue 2022 Coverage
If you want to find out the highlights and details from every day of the competition, then check back with DeeperBlue.com as our team provides daily updates and wrap up’s throughout the competition. You should also keep an eye out on our socials for highlights from the competition.
We’ve covered every year of the competition since 2008, so you can check out this year’s coverage and all previous years in our Vertical Blue archive.
Vertical Blue is always an exciting event to watch, so stay tuned to DeeperBlue.com and our social media feeds for updates, and sign up for the live feed from Diveye on the Vertical Blue website to watch in real-time.
Feature Photo by Daan Verhoeven
— With on-site reporting from Francesca Koe and additional reporting by Stephan Whelan.
