2009 AIDA Freediving World Championships

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Welcome!

The 2009 AIDA Freediving World Championships will take place in Dean’s Blue Hole on Long Island in the Bahamas, between November 25 – December 5. Each event will have a day of heats between Nov 27 – Dec 1, with the top 6 male and female athletes in each discipline competing for the medals on the 3rd and 5th.

51 athletes (17 female and 34 male) from 17 nations will compete at the World Championships in the Bahamas.
For further enquiries and information contact

worldchamps(at)verticalblue(dot)net

Organiser - Sebastian Naslund

Executive Organiser - William Trubridge

event program

Contacts

All media enquiries:		worldchamps(at)verticalblue(dot)net
For accommodation & transport on Long Island:		tanya(at)verticalblue(dot)net
All other enquiries:		sebastian(at)webvideo(dot)nu
		brittany(at)verticalblue(dot)net

Freediving

Competitive freediving is an extreme sport in which athletes attempt to attain great depths, times or distances on a single breath of air taken at the surface. putting divers to the test in the two most important depth disciplines: constant weight with fins (CWT) and constant no fins (CNF).

Freediving world records and competitions are governed by the International Association for the Development of Apnea (AIDA), who will supply three judges to officiate the world championships.

Constant Weight Without Fins (CNF)

The freediver descends and ascends underwater using only his own body for propulsion, without the use of fins and without pulling on the rope. Constant weight without fins is the most physically demanding discipline, because the athlete is not assisted in any way. It requires a perfect coordination between propulsive movements of the hands and fee, equalization, technique and buoyancy.

The current world records are:
- Men: 88 meters (288 feet), held by William Trubridge (NZL)
- Women: 60 meters (196 feet), held by Natalia Molchanova (RUS)

Constant Weight (CWT)

The freediver descends and ascends using fins or a monofin as well as their hands for propulsion, but without pulling on the rope (only a single hold of the rope to stop the descent and start the ascent is allowed). 'Constant Weight' refers to the fact that the athlete is not allowed to drop any diving weights during the dive. This is the most common freediving discipline, and the great depths acheived make mental calm and equalisation very important factors.
The current world records are:

- Men: 122 meters (400 feet), held by Martin Stepanek (CZE)
- Women: 101 meters (331 feet), held by Natalia Molchanova (RUS)

For more information on competitive freediving, visit: http://www.aida-international.org/

Athletes

Athelete	Sex	Country

Herbert Nitsch	m	AUT
Jana Strain	f	CAN
William Winram	m	CAN
Jarmila Slovencikova	f	CZE
Cristina Kummel	f	DEN
Christian Moller	m	DEN
Henning Larsen	m	DEN
Jacob Hansen	m	DEN
Mads Becker-Jorgensen	m	DEN
Mads Isberg	m	DEN
Antero Joki	m	FIN
Mikko Pontinen	m	FIN
Brigitte Banegas	f	FRA
Christian Maldame	m	FRA
Guillaume Nery	m	FRA
Morgan Bourch'is	m	FRA
Patrick Poggi	m	FRA
Sara Campbell	f	GBR
Heidi Heidenreich	f	GER
Hanako Hirose	f	JAP
Junko Kitahama	f	JAP
Misuzu Hirai	f	JAP
Motoko Ishiwata	f	JAP
Kosuke Okamoto	m	JAP
Ryuzo Shinomiya	m	JAP
Shun Oshima	m	JAP
Tatsuma Kitahara	m	JAP
Tetsuya Yoneta	m	JAP
Kathryn McPhee	f	NZL
Niki Roderick	f	NZL
Chris Marshall	m	NZL
Kerian Hibbs	m	NZL
William Trubridge	m	NZL
Natalia Molchanova	f	RUS
Olga Suryakova	f	RUS
Alexey Molchanov	m	RUS
Jure Daic	m	SLO
Alfredo Martin	m	SPA
Jason Barrett	m	SPA
Klara Hansson	f	SWE
Anders Larsson	m	SWE
Christian Ernest	m	SWE
Johan Dahlstrom	m	SWE
Per Westin	m	SWE
Sebastian Naslund	m	SWE
Adel AbuHaliqa	m	UAE
Carla Sue Hanson	f	USA
Robert King	m	USA
Ambar Peralta	f	VEN
Carlos Coste	m	VEN
Pavel Álcocer	m	VEN

Sponsors

Suunto is the manufacturer of the most accurate depth gauges, trusted by the official AIDA International judges. Each athlete will wear an official Suunto D4 depth gauge, which will record their freedive and the maximum depth reached.