Top 7 records of diving without a scuba diver

Freediving has a very rich history, and it is a relatively young sport. Mass interest in it was sparked after the release of Luc Besson’s movie “The Blue Abyss”, where actors Jean Reno and Jean-Marc Barr played the pioneers of freediving – Enzo Mallorca and Jacques Mayol. They were the first to set a 100-meter record of diving in apnea without scuba diving. However, the term “freediving” appeared in 1949 thanks to Italian Raymond Bucher. He was the first to dive to 30 meters while holding his breath.

What disciplines exist in freediving?

There are several main disciplines in modern freediving. These are:

Static apnea in open water or in a pool;
Constant weight depth diving without fins;
Constant-weight depth diving with fins or mono fins;
Constant-weight deep dive with only separate fins;
Free diving in depth by rope;
Dynamic apnea without fins in a length of pool or open water;
Dynamic apnea with fins or monofinals in a long dive in a pool or open water;
Dynamic apnea only in separate fins in a length of pool or open water.

Freedivers undergo serious training based on the reflexes of the human body. When diving, athletes’ heart rate slows down, so that the person relaxes and does not panic. Blood vessels narrow, blood circulates more slowly, which saves energy and oxygen. There is a so-called blood shift – the blood circulates only in a small circle.

But, of course, it is not enough to rely only on the strength of your body and organism. That’s why freedivers spend a lot of time on training that excludes risks. And there are a lot of them! These are barotraumas of ears, teeth, lungs and trachea, cranial sinuses, hypoxic loss of consciousness, face crimping due to pressure. The so-called “samba” leads to muscle failure and subsequently to loss of consciousness.

禁忌事項

All professional divers remind beginners that it is necessary to undergo a complete medical examination before engaging in this beautiful, but extremely risky sport.

Contraindications to freediving are quite a lot. A serious obstacle can become:

heart disease – congenital heart disease, heart attacks;
lung disease, including bronchial asthma;
chronic ENT diseases: sinusitis, maxillary sinusitis, otitis media;
glaucoma;
cerebral circulatory disorders and previous strokes and ischemic transient attacks;
mental disorders.

Top 7 records of scuba diving without scuba diving

In this article we gathered unique record-breaking freedivers who surprised the world of sports.

Natalia Molchanova

The most titled freediver in the world and popularizer of scuba diving in Russia. Natalia has 22 world championship victories and 41 world records to her credit. Molchanova was the first woman who could hold her breath for more than 9 minutes and reached a depth of 100 meters. Natalia was called a freediver-universalist, because she confidently set records in all disciplines.

The athlete surprised experienced divers when she overcame the infamous Blue Hole in Egypt in one breath. This underwater vertical cave 135 meters deep has become a graveyard for many divers. But the Queen of freediving (as Molchanova was called in the sporting world) was not intimidated by this. Her dive lasted almost 6 minutes! Some time later Natalia repeated her record already in a pair with her son Alexei.

Molchanova also owns dozens of pedagogical works, author’s courses, she was the president of the Russian Freediving Federation. In 2012, on her 50th birthday, Natalia made a gift to herself and set a new record – she conquered a depth of 66 meters without fins, relying only on the strength of her body.

On August 2, 2015, while diving in the Mediterranean Sea, Natalia was caught in a strong underwater current. People on the boat tried to save the athlete, but the water picked her up and dragged her away. Molchanova was searched for two days. On August 4, the Queen of freediving was recognized as dead. In 2019 in the Turkish city of Kash, the place where freediving festivals are held, the sportswoman installed a monument. In the same 2019, the movie “One Breath” was released, where the role of Molchanova was played by actress Victoria Isakova.

Natalia Molchanova

Alexei Molchanov

Natalia’s son followed in his mother’s footsteps. Already in his childhood and adolescence he set records in swimming pools. And today, 37-year-old Alexey is the current world record holder in freediving, president of the Association of Freedivers “Freediving Federation”. He has 34 world records and 25 gold medals at Freediving World Championships! Molchanov won his last gold medal last year while diving in the Bahamas.

Alexei Molchanov

Olga Davydova

Another woman who has become a star in the world of freediving. In 2020, she set three world records for scuba diving without scuba diving. And in just four days. Goluboe Lake in Kabardino-Balkaria was chosen as the venue for the tournament. The water temperature was only +8°C.

First, the Ryazan woman in biolastes swam 65 meters deep on breath-holding. Then the discipline of “free diving with pulling up on a cable” was chosen: the depth reached by Olga was 71 meters. The next day Davydova took the depth of 73 m in monolast.

And in August 2023, Davydova set a record for scuba diving in Armenia on Lake Sevan. She was able to descend to 45 meters.

Olga Davydova

William Troubridge

The 44-year-old New Zealander is one of the most titled athletes who has conquered 122 meters on breath-holding. No other champion has risked diving to such depths.

“We can go to the same depth in a submarine, but we would still be surrounded by oxygen. And freediving is the only way to be completely submerged in water without oxygen. That makes it not just a sport, but an extraordinary experience,” says the athlete.

William Trubridge

William equates freediving to meditation, which helps to get rid of negative emotions and get out of crisis and depressive states.

“Freediving removes anything extraneous from the mind that takes away your feelings, thoughts and your view of the future and past. It’s like pieces that only exist on the surface. And at depth, in the water, they melt away. And our true nature, which is pure consciousness, is revealed to us. I feel like I’m just a speck of consciousness drifting in the abyss…” – William shared the experience of the dive.

William was the first to set a world record for a dive to a depth of more than 100 meters in the constant weight without fins discipline. In 2011, the New Zealander won the Absolute Freediver award for scoring the highest marks in all disciplines. Today, Troubridge runs his own freediving school and teaches at the Apnea Academy. He advocates dive safety, teaches young divers vital techniques and always warns of the dangers of the sport.

William Trubridge

Alessia Zecchini

The Italian beauty has set several world records in two disciplines – “constant weight without fins” and “constant weight” (i.e. without any equipment). In her homeland, Alessia is called “the deepest woman in the deep sea”. And there is a good reason for that – 17 gold medals of world championships. The girl started diving at the age of 13 and barely waited until she was old enough to submit her first application for the tournament. Netflix even made a documentary about the athlete called “The Deepest Breath.”

In April this year, 31-year-old Alessia broke her own record in the discipline of “free diving” to a depth of 104 meters at the championship in the Philippines. It took Zecchini 3 minutes and 46 seconds.

Alessia Zecchini

Goran Kolak

The 41-year-old Croatian did the impossible – he became the absolute record holder for breath-holding. 22 minutes and 32 seconds – that’s how long the athlete was in a state of static apnea. The whole of Zagreb was watching the preparation for the record. A portable pool was installed in the central square of the city, and Goran immersed himself in it. The athlete was 30 years old at the time. And for more than 10 years no one has been able to break his record.

“The limitations are only in our heads. Everything seems impossible until someone does something first, and then it suddenly becomes normal. Illusions limit us in realizing our true potential,” says the famous Croatian freediver.

Goran Kolak

Herbert Nitsch

It should not be forgotten that when diving to depth on breath-holding, vital organs of a person undergo the strongest stresses. And for the untrained non-professional such experiments can be fatal.

For example, in 2007, Austrian freediver Herbert Nitsch, who already had records and titles, decided to take the depth of 214 meters. However, the athlete began to rise to the surface too quickly and received a series of microstrokes. Due to a brain hemorrhage, the freediver had to re-learn how to walk and recover his memory. Five years later, fully recovered and restored, Herbert dived almost 250 meters. But, alas, his record remained unrecorded.

Herbert Nitsch