After the final rest day, the Vertical Blue 2022 freediving competition at Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas resumed with Day 7 of action. The Constant Weight Bi-Fins (CWTB) absolute world record fell again, plus seven national records.
RELATED: Vertical Blue 2022: Everything You Need To Know
Arnaud Jerald Extends Constant Weight Bi-Fins World Record Yet Again
France’s Arnaud Jerald extended his CWTB World Record with a dive to 120m/393.7ft on Day 7.
Jerald had set the AIDA record on Day 1 with a 117m/558ft dive, then extended it and broke the absolute World Record on Day 4 with a 119m/387ft dive.
Seven National Records Set
Four women and three men set new national records on Day 7.
RELATED: Freediving Disciplines Explained
Turkey’s Sahika Ercumen set a new Free Immersion (FIM) national record with an 88m/289ft dive on the women’s side. In an Instagram post, Ercumen wrote:
“It was the discipline that challenged me the most in this competition, I am very happy that after 2 red cards I still dared to try this dive and did it successfully.”
Additionally, Mexico’s Camila Jaber dove to 82m/269ft, South Africa’s Talya Davidoff swam down to 71m/233ft in the CWTB discipline, and Belgium’s Marine Simonis dive to 61m/200ft in the Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) discipline.
As for the men, the U.K.’s Gary McGrath set a Constant Weight (CWT) national record with a 112m/367ft dive.
According to McGrath:
“Diving below 100m is a totally unique environment, it’s my therapy. This year has been extremely challenging for my mental health and freediving has helped me overcome that for sure.
“At depth I have complete isolation from the everyday world we live in. Down there it’s just me and nature. It’s that escape that all freedivers crave.
“There are moments of extreme mental clarity and purity that I can only achieve when underwater. The flow state that a deep dive allows me to experience is unique and addictive.”
Additionally, Mexico’s Pedro Tapia dove to 108m/354ft in the same discipline. Tapia’s countryman Pepe Salcedo shrugged off his blackout on Day 6 to nab a white card with a 105m/344ft CWTB dive.
Red and White Cards
As has been the case on most days of the competition, not every dive succeeded.
Poland’s Mateusz Malina was gunning for a 127m/417ft men’s FIM World Record but only managed to get to 113m/371ft before returning. Stefan Randig sought to extend his German national CNF record to 80m/262ft but drew a red card for pulling on the line. And China’s Potti Lau was also looking to extend his CWTB national record to 95m/312ft but again earned a red card for pulling.
Full Day 7 Results and Start List Day 8
Check out the full results from Vertical Blue Day 7 and the Day 8 start list below.
Photos of Day 7
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.
