France’s Arnaud Jerald set a new World Record in the Constant Weight Bi-Fins (CWTB) freediving discipline with a dive to 122m/400ft during Day 1 of the Vertical Blue competition at Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas.
Jerald said about his dive:
“I was feeling really comfortable because of the amazing VB safeties around me and because this competition that William Trubridge has organized is amazing. I am very happy to have made this dive as it is an accomplishment in recognition of all of the training I did this winter in Marseille with my partners.”
According to Vertical Blue’s chief of safety Marco Cosentino:
“Today at Vertical Blue 2023 by Garmin we witnessed an incredible dive by Arnaud Jerald – one of the most impressive freedivers of his generation. Arnaud’s surface protocol was clean and strong, and I can imagine he will reach even greater depths at this competition.”
Two New National Records
A pair of women’s national records also fell on Day 1.
South Africa’s Talya Davidoff set a new national women’s record in the Free Immersion (FIM) discipline with her dive to 78m/256ft.
Uruguay’s Vanessa Estol set a national record in the Constant Weight (CWT) discipline with her 53m/174ft dive.
Not So Smooth Sailing
It wasn’t smooth sailing for everyone, though: 11 competitors saw red cards on Day 1.
The USA’s Enchante Gallardo was gunning for a 100m/328ft CWT dive, but suffered a blackout. Taiwan’s Yum Chieh Ku had targeted a FIM national record dive of 110m/361ft but also blacked out. His countrymen Wen Hsiang Huang and Yi Xian Zhang didn’t fare much better: Huang on his Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) dive got to his target depth of 70m/230ft but blacked out on the way back up, as did Zhang with his 64m/210ft attempt.
Mexico’s Pepe Salcedo was going for a 103m/338ft national record dive, but blacked out on the way up.
Another five red cards were earned due to failed surface protocols:
* Turkey’s Sahika Ercumen (95m/312ft national CWT record attempt)
* Italy’s Davide Carrera (130m/427ft national CWT record attempt)
* Taiwan’s Hua Yang Huang (117m/384ft national CWT record attempt)
* Tunisia’s Walid Boudhiaf (117m national CWT record attempt)
* Chile’s Simon Bennett (74m/243ft CWTB attempt)
(NOTE: If you’re new to competitive freediving, one of the strong points of this competition is the world-class safety and medical team that helps keep the competitors safe and healthy.)
Check out the full results and a replay of Day 1’s action below.
Photos Courtesy of Daan Verhoeven. Additional Reporting by Francesca Koe in the Bahamas
