According to a Serbian economist, the World Pool Freediving Championships took place in Futog, a suburb of Novi Sad. The tournament took place from 9 to 15 June and attracted over 250 athletes from 34 countries across all continents.
At the championships, athletes competed in several disciplines: who could swim the furthest underwater without fins, with two fins, with a monofin, and who could stay underwater without moving for the longest time.
One of the stars of the championships was the Polish athlete Mateusz Malina. He won gold in the no-fins underwater swimming event with a distance of 244 m and set a new CMAS world record. On the final day, he also claimed victory in the fin swimming event, covering 322.5 metres.
Among the women, one of the standout competitors was the Croatian Mirela Kardašević. She won the two-fins event with a distance of 278.5 m and set a new absolute world record. Kardasevic also won gold in the fin swim, where she achieved a distance of 288 m.
Polish athlete Julia Kozerska won the women’s finless swimming event, covering 211 m. The competition in this event was particularly intense: Mirela Kadashevich took second place with a distance of 210.5 m, and third place went to Magdalena Solich-Talanda from Poland with a distance of 210 m.
In the men’s static apnea discipline, Poland’s Damian Watrach claimed victory with a time of 9 minutes 36 seconds.
In the women’s event, the gold was won by the German Heike Schwerdtner, who stayed underwater for 9 minutes 39 seconds and set a new CMAS world record.
Ukraine was also represented at the championships. Among the competitors was one of Ukraine’s strongest freedivers, Kateryna Sadurska. In the Masters category, Sadurska took the title with a result of 181 m.
The tournament brought together the strongest athletes, set several world and continental records, and gave Serbia a significant boost on the international sporting stage.
The competition was organised by CMAS – the World Confederation of Underwater Activities. This is an international federation uniting various types of underwater sports, including freediving.
Freediving is underwater swimming whilst holding one’s breath without the use of scuba gear.