Today at Dean’s Blue Hole at exactly 10:20 am in the Bahamas, Russian freediving powerhouse Alexey Molchanov delivered an unparalleled performance with a Free Immersion (FIM) dive to 133m in a breathtakingly long 4mins 42secs.
Not only is this dive amazing because of the depth and the sheer prowess required, but ironically, the depth is equivalent to 442 feet, so Alexey managed perfect symmetry in-depth and time by diving 442 ft in 4mins 42secs.
The champion freediver is no stranger to gold medals or his iconic gold wetsuits and has now accumulated 30 world records – his breadth of strength seems to know no bounds.
Molchanov said about his dive:
“My dive felt good, but I’m tired! Overall I felt strong, I felt clean as well but it’s not my favorite discipline.”
Vertical Blue’s chief of safety Marco Cosentino had this to say about Molchanov:
“Alexey is not only the world’s best, he’s from an entirely different universe! He makes everything look so effortless which belies what it actually takes to do what he does. He is incredible.”
Four New National Records
Ukraine’s Kateryna Sadurska set a new national women’s record in Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) with a dive of 74m/243ft.
Dr Juan Valdivia, a practicing Neurosurgeon from Peru, completed a National Record in Constant Weight (CWT) with a 63m/207ft dive.
Mexico’s Pedro Tapia rounded off the men’s national records with a 110m/361ft Constant Weight (CWT) dive.
Finally, Uraguay’s Vanessa Estol dove 55m/180ft for a Constant Weight Bi-Fins (CWTB) National Record.
More Consistent Performances on Day 2
Day 2 saw fewer colored cards for competitors as 12 divers secured white cards, 3 got penalties with yellow cards, and only 3 red cards. One athlete – Slovenia’s Alenka Artnik – did not start.
The Japanese female divers, normally very strong in competition, saw two of the yellow cards with Hanako Hirose securing penalty points for grabbing the line during a Constant Weight (CWT) dive and Junko Kitahama turning early for her dive.
Check out the full results and a replay of all of Day 2’s action below.
Photos Courtesy of Daan Verhoeven. Additional Reporting by Francesca Koe in the Bahamas
