Friday, April 23, 2010

William Trubridge Sets New ''No Fins'' Freediving World Record

We actually received an email from the Trubridge camp (below) the day he broke this record, but wanted to wait for the news story so we could post both here.

Kiwi freediver William Trubridge has set yet another world record by plunging 92 metres underwater.

Trubridge, 29, set the record about 5am New Zealand time in the "no fins" category of the Vertical Blue 2010 event in the Bahamas.

He held his breath for three minutes and 45 seconds in the record plunge - collecting a tag from a plate 92 metres deep to prove he had set the record.

Before the dive, Trubridge told The Dominion Post the "no fins" event was the "purest discipline" in freediving, which required a lot of strength.

"It's a very physical discipline, because you can only use your hands and feet."

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(Feed readers click through for video)

Here's the email we received on April 19:

Today at 11:50am in Dean's Blue Hole, Long Island, Bahamas New Zealander William Trubridge became the first man to pass the barrier of 300 feet (92 meters) freediving completely unassisted - a discipline called "constant weight no fins."

Swimming a form of adapted breaststroke he descended next to a vertical line, collecting a tag from the bottom plate as proof of depth, before returning to the surface with only his hands and feet for propulsion, in a total time of three minutes and forty five seconds.

Constant Weight No Fins is the purest measure of human aquatic potential, and athletically the most demanding of the freediving disciplines.

The dive took place during the Vertical Blue Suunto Dive-Off competition which runs from April 17-27 and sees the best freedivers in the world compete to extend the limits in this extreme sporting discipline. Dean's Blue Hole is the deepest blue hole in the world, at 203 meters (660 feet).

The greatest danger for Trubridge during the dive was the risk of running out of oxygen and blacking out underwater. Safety divers were on hand to assist him in the case of emergency, and a counterweight system could be deployed to bring him back to the surface if it happened very deep. His newly wed wife, Brittany, waited on the surface during the dive, counting out the seconds until he returned to breath again.

Trubridge uses a silicon coated wetsuit specifically designed by Orca, as well as swimming goggles that have been adapted with corrective lenses mounted on the inside so that they can be filled with water and enable vision underwater. The record depth was officially verified by a Suunto D4 depth gauge that Trubridge wore on his wrist, as well as underwater cameras that were viewed by judges from AIDA - the official organization for freediving record homologation.

Brittany and William Trubridge spend seven months of the year training in the Bahamas, and the rest of the time traveling through Europe teaching freediving and yoga courses. They were the hosts of the recent AIDA World Championships, where William won gold and bronze in the two disciplines with and without fins.

For photos from the world record, or for information on obtaining access to video footage of the freedive (via FTP server) please reply to this address, or write directly:

Photos: DeeDee Flores - deedeeflores01@aol.com
Video: Oceanic All Stars - duncan.brake@oceanicallstars.com
Official website: http://www.verticalblue.net/news
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/verticalblue

Congrats, William!

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2 comments:

Gap Year Freediving said...

Go Will! Here is a little <a href="http://www.xtremegapyear.co.uk>freediving</a> post about Will at the Bluehole. Incredible achievement.

Anonymous said...

Sorry here is the coorect link
Go Will! Here is a little freediving post about Will at the Bluehole. Incredible achievement.