2025 CMAS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FREEDIVING DEPTH

The world’s best freediving athletes have gathered in Mytikas, Greece, to battle it out in the depths.

Sports Columnist: Asya Kleshchevnikova
Editor: Kristina Zvaritch

1. Preview of the World Championship
2. Day 1 (September 9): CWT Men
3. Day 2 (September 10): CWT Women
4. Day 3 (September 11): FIM Men
5. Day 4 (September 12): FIM Women
6. Day 5 (September 14): CNF Men
7. Day 6 (September 15): CNF Women
8. Day 7 (September 16): CWTB Men
9. Day 8 (September 17): CWTB Women

Preview Of The World Championship

Background

After last year's CMAS 8th World Championship Freediving Outdoor, which took place in Kalamata, and this year's the 2025 CMAS World Championship Freediving Indoor, which took place in Athens, Greece is welcoming freedivers yet again at the 2025 CMAS World Championship Freediving Outdoor. This time, the Championship will take place in a small fishing village on the Ionian coast in Western Greece—Mytikas.

Diving Conditions and Competition Schedule

Mytikas is built on a small peninsula at the front of Kalamos island that projects into the sea like a nose. The two bays on either side of the nose create peaceful conditions for freediving. Convenient logistics (with three airports located 45–130km / 28–81mi from the village), a variety of accommodations, and, of course, its cuisine make the location particularly attractive.

The current diving conditions are as follows:

• Air temperature: 25–27°C (77–81°F)
• Water temperature: From 25°C (77°F) on the surface to 17–19°C (63–66°F) at 70m (230ft)
• Visibility: 20–30m (66–98ft)
• No current
• No waves
• Maximum depth: 160m (525ft)

Athletes will compete in four disciplines with one spare day in the middle. Here’s the schedule:

• September 8 - Opening Ceremony
• September 9 - Constant Weight with Monofin (CWT) - Men
• September 10 - Constant Weight with Monofin (CWT) - Women
• September 11 - Free Immersion (FIM) - Men
• September 12 - Free Immersion (FIM) - Women
• September 13 - Day off / Backup day
• September 14 - Constant Weight without Fins (CNF) - Men
• September 15 - Constant Weight without Fins (CNF) - Women
• September 16 - Constant Weight with Bifins (CWTB) - Men
• September 17 - Constant Weight with Bifins (CWTB) - Women

An awards ceremony and evening closing ceremony will be held at the end of the Championship on September 17.

Competing Athletes

About 120 athletes from 30 countries will compete at the Championship. Among the participants are world record holders and almost all the winners of the last several years. Besides, several outstanding results were also achieved during the local competitions this year, which led to a shift among record holders; some of the athletes will surely attempt to regain their status. For example, Alexey Molchanov (INT) mentioned on social media that he is hoping to set at least one new record. The competition promises to be as hot as ever - trust us, you don't want to miss the show!

CWT

Among men, the clear favorite, seemingly with an obvious advantage and without even needing to set records, is Alexey Molchanov. His personal best (PB) and absolute World Record in CWT is 136m (446ft). Alexey achieved this result twice: in 2023 at the CMAS 7th Freediving Depth World Championship 2023 and then at the 31st AIDA Freediving World Championship.

Second place could have been contested by Davide Carrera (ITA; PB – 130m / 427ft) and Andrey Matveenko (INT; PB – 134m / 440ft). But during official training on September 6th, Andrey Matveenko suffered a deep blackout with suspected pulmonary barotrauma and possible DCS. Davide was also suspected of having DCS. Both athletes were transported to the hospital. Davide was confirmed to be well and was discharged from the hospital on the same day. Andrey was transported to Athens. And only there, 21 hours after the accident, he received the treatment in a decompression chamber in Athens. He is alive and his condition is stable. If we receive any updates about the athletes’ condition, we will share them in the following articles.

Alexey’s only competitor in CWT is Mateusz Malina (POL; PB – 113m / 371ft). Last year, he attempted 122m (400ft) but turned early. Maybe this time he is in better shape.

Among women, Alessia Zecchini (ITA) and Alenka Artnik (SVN) both hold the CWT World Record of 123m (404ft). Alessia achieved this result in 2023 according to AIDA rules, while Alenka reached the same depth in 2025 under CMAS rules. However, Alenka is not participating in this Championship, so Alessia seems to be the undisputed contender for gold.

Most likely, second place will go to Hanako Hirose (JPN; PB – 111m / 364ft), while third will be contested by Chiara Obino (ITA; PB – 107m / 351ft) and Kateryna Sadurska (UKR; PB – 103m / 338ft). However, considering last year’s Championship results and other disciplines, we would bet that Kateryna is the most likely to win a medal.

FIM

The current absolute world record holder in FIM is Petar Klovar (CRO), with 135m (443ft) among men. But it’s likely that Alexey may want to take the record back, his current official best and former absolute record in this discipline is 133m (436ft). Petar and Alexey are followed by Mateusz (of all depth disciplines, he is strongest in FIM; PB – 127m / 417ft), Vitomir Maričić (CRO; PB – 123m / 404ft), and Abdelatif Alouach (FRA; PB – 118m / 387ft).

Among women, the deepest is Alessia (CMAS WR – 104m / 341ft), but only one meter behind is Sanda (AIDA WR – 103m / 338ft). Knowing Sanda’s competitive style, we can assume she will try to out-dive Alessia. Enchante Gallardo (USA) and Kateryna Sadurska (UKR) are steadily progressing in FIM, both with PBs of 97m (318ft), and it’s expected they will dive deeper and also fight for the podium.

CWTB

The absolute world record holder in CWTB is Arnaud Jerald (FRA) with 126m (413ft). But he is not participating in the Championship. So, the leader, with the nearest competitor 6m (20ft) behind, is Alexey Molchanov (INT). Alexey’s current PB and former world record in CWTB is 125m / 410ft (33rd AIDA Freediving World Championship). The only question is whether Alexey will try to reclaim his world record holder status in CWTB. Also in the medal fight are Abdelatif Alouach (FRA; PB – 119m / 390ft), Mateusz Malina (POL; PB – 113m / 371ft), and Vitomir Maričić (CRO; PB – 110m / 361ft).

Among the women, the undisputed favourite is Alessia (absolute CMAS WR – 113m / 371ft). Behind her, with a big gap, is a group of athletes: finally returning to competition, Natalia Zharkova (UKR; PB – 97m / 318ft), and steadily improving Kateryna Sadurska (UKR; PB – 95m) and Enchante Gallardo (USA; PB – 95m / 312ft).

CNF

It seems the main intrigue awaits us in the last discipline—CNF. The current absolute world record holder in CNF among men is Petar Klovar (CRO), with 103m (338ft). Petar’s journey to this record deserves a separate book or maybe even a Netflix thriller. However, Alexey has been chasing this record even longer and still hasn’t set it. His personal best in the discipline is 100m / 328ft (CMAS 7th Freediving Depth World Championship 2023). So, both athletes will compete for gold. Who would you bet on?

Other medal contenders are Mateusz Malina (POL; PB – 90m / 295ft), Francisco Quesada (ESP; PB – 86m / 282ft), and Abdelatif Alouach (FRA; PB – 85m / 279ft).

Among women, Kateryna Sadurska (UKR) is the clear leader. Since 2023, she has updated the CNF WR seven times. The current absolute world record in CNF is 84m (276ft), set by Kateryna in 2024 at the Deep Dominica Depth Competition under AIDA rules. Alessia Zecchini (ITA; PB – 73m / 240ft), Sanda Delija (CRO; PB – 71m / 233ft), Lauren Matevish (USA; PB – 71m), Zsófia Törőcsik (HUN; PB – 70m / 230ft), and Natalia Zharkova (UKR; PB – 70m) will also compete for medals.

Of course, it should be kept in mind that some leading athletes may focus on certain disciplines and skip others. In that case, the winners could turn out to be completely unpredictable.

What’s Next?

Each day of the Championship, we’ll post official links to the online broadcasts so you can find them easily. If you don't have time to watch the broadcast, don't worry! We'll watch for you and write detailed reports on all the notable performances.

Stay tuned and make sure you catch our updates.

If you want more information on freediving competitions and how to watch them to get ready for this year’s Championship, make sure you check our competition guides:

• International Freediving Federations You Need to Know: CMAS vs. AIDA
• How to Make Sense of a Freediving Competition Broadcast
• Current CMAS and AIDA Freediving World Records

Day 1 (September 9): CWT - Men

The Setup

September 9th, on Mytikas, Greece, saw the 2025 CMAS World Championship Freediving Depth’s first competition day. Men competed in the deepest discipline—Constant Weight (CWT), diving to depth with monofins and sometimes with bifins.

Diving conditions seem to be favorable. The Ionian Sea welcomed athletes with exceptional visibility and light, even at maximum depths, accompanied by calmness on the surface and an absence of current. According to the temperature graph shown during the broadcast, the water temperature of 26°C (79°F) at the surface gradually lowered to 18°C (64°F) at 90m (296ft). Apart from that, luck seems to be in short supply at this event.

In short:

• 46 athletes participated
• Realized depths ranged from 40m - 130m (131 - 427ft)
• 6 red cards were given
• 9 yellow cards were issued
• 2 new CMAS World Record was gained in Masters 60+ category and Para Freediving (with pending status until doping control results are finalized)

Notable Competitor Absences and Withdrawals

During official training on September 6th, Andrey Matveenko (INT; PB – 134m / 440ft) suffered a deep blackout with suspected pulmonary barotrauma and possible DCS. Davide Carrera (ITA; PB – 130m / 427ft) was also suspected of having DCS. Both athletes were transported to a nearby hospital. Davide was confirmed to be well and was discharged the same day, but wasn't cleared to compete. Andrey was transported to Athens. Only there, a full 21 hours after the accident, did he receive treatment in a decompression chamber in Athens. He is alive and his condition is stable, but he remains partly paralyzed and his neurological condition is unclear.

This is how two of the strongest athletes became absent from the Championship.

Additionally, the accident with Andrey and the prolonged period of time he waited for the proper treatment in a decompression chamber indicate that the competition organizers didn't have an emergency plan for this kind of injury. This raised significant safety concerns that the competition organizers did not address, prompting several other top athletes, including Petar Klovar (HRV), Zsófia Törőcsik (HUN), and Talya Davidoff (USA), to withdraw from the competition, with Talya stating that she is retiring from CMAS.

Eerie Reds

The accident and the following events inevitably cast a shadow on the Championship, and the general mood seemed to be tense and uneasy, which resulted in a large number of red cards and early turns. In particular, Mete Mordag (TUR), who announced 103m (338ft), plunged to a depth of 10m (33ft) and remained there. For several seconds, the athlete was moving neither down nor up. It looked unusual to say the least, and the safety diver rushed to drag Mete to the surface. However, the athlete signaled that he was fine, only that he failed to equalize.

Mathieu Maraio (FRA; PB - 110m / 361ft) was less fortunate. He announced a conservative dive of 108m (354ft) and successfully reached the target. But on the way up, already at about 50m (164ft) depth, he tried to ascend by pulling up on the rope. Fortunately, the safety diver with a scooter, who was waiting for the athlete at a depth of about 40m (131ft), noticed that and descended to help Mathieu, who was already losing consciousness.

The athlete was swiftly delivered to the surface, where he recovered quickly, even going to the medical boat on his own. The boat was sent to the shore, and the competition was delayed by 30 minutes.

Yet another heartbreaking performance was shown by Christos Karelos (GRE; PB - 117m / 384ft). He announced a 123m (404ft), which was a solid bet for silver. But the athlete's neck weight opened up during packing and it fell from his neck right after the duck dive. Christos couldn't continue the dive and had to return to the surface.

The Winners

There was one nice surprise, however: the Greek team is very well represented at this championship; we missed this in our forecast article and didn't include the Greek athletes in the contenders for medals. This mistake is on us.

Nonetheless, on the first day, we had a chance to witness a performance of a legendary veteran of freediving - Emmanouil Giankos (GRE; PB - 118m / 387ft). Since childhood, Emmanouil was a spearfisher and was a competitive swimmer until age 17, and his transition into freediving 25 year ago was smooth and natural. Already in 2008, Emmanouil reached 100m (328ft) for the first time. On the first day of the Championship, he announced a 125m (410ft) dive, smoothly reached the depth, and nailed the surface protocol—white card and white-water celebrations!

Alexey Molchanov (INT; WR - 136m / 446ft), being under stress due to his teammate and friend, Andrey Matveenko's (INT) severe conditions, announced a moderate depth of 130m (427ft). Alexey, with no surprise, brought the tag from the announced depth and celebrated the white card.

The third deepest dive of the day was performed by Mateusz Malina (POL; PB - 123m / 404ft). As the absolute world record holder in dynamic disciplines, Mateusz has a tremendous resistance to hypoxia. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to train for depth this year, so he didn't push his limits too far. He easily reached the announced 120m (394ft) of depth and received a white card at the surface.

To sum up:

Alexey Molchanov (INT) - 130m (427ft) - World Champion
Emmanouil Giankos (GRE) - 125m (410ft) - Vice-Champion
Mateusz Malina (POL) - 120m (394ft) - Bronze medal

Congratulations to the top three!

Comparative dive profiles of the deepest athletes of the first competition day, CWT Men.

Special Mentions

Special mention goes to the online broadcast hosts! Big thanks to Anas Chair (MOR) and Angeliki Kollia for doing their homework and telling us tons of information about the athletes. Another great invention was to show on the screen the comparative dive profiles of the deepest athletes from Diveye. That was interesting and informative!

Additionally, Anas is a competitive athlete himself (CWT; PB - 51m / 167ft) and even performed at the end of the day. He announced a 43m (141ft) dive but turned early at a depth of 38m. Multi-tasking isn't easy!

Thank you for your job, commentators!

Be sure to watch the broadcast on September 10th, the second competition day, where the women will compete in CWT. Check the link to the online broadcast and stay tuned for our report!

Day 2 (September 10): CWT - Women

The Setup

September 10th, in Mytikas, Greece, was the second competition day of the 2025 CMAS World Championship Freediving Depth. It was the women's turn to compete in Constant Weight (CWT), diving to depth with monofins and sometimes with bifins.

They started on two lines with a 5-minute interval between each dive. The dives traditionally were arranged from shallow to the deepest and back to shallowest. At the end of the day, the athletes from the Masters categories performed. The weather conditions remained the same, mild and favorable as on the first competition day, and overall, the day was much less stressful than the previous competition day and the official training days. But we must admit that most of the women were especially cautious with their announcements and didn't gamble.

In short:

• 28 athletes participated
• Realized depths ranged from 31m - 113m (102 - 371ft)
• 3 red cards were given
• 6 yellow cards were issued

The Colorful Cards

Among only three red cards, there were no deep blackouts. Simona Auteri (ITA; PB - 92m / 302ft) performed a 90m (295ft) dive, but the energy left her only 3 - 5m (10 - 16ft) before the surface. Safeties helped her to the surface, where the athlete quickly returned to her senses.

Sahika Ercumen (TUR; PB - 100m / 328ft) got even closer to a white card. She performed a 97m (318ft) dive, surfaced, showed the surface protocol with a smile and, thinking that the job was done, forgot to keep recovery breathing. As a result, she had a short rest in the hands of the safeties and a red card.

Next was Katerina Sadurska (UKR; PB - 107m / 351ft) with the first 100m+ (328ft+) dive of the day. Aiming for 105m (344ft), Katerina, however, missed the plate by 3m (10ft) and turned back. She looked fresh at the surface and showed a clean protocol, which resulted in her placing 4th in the overall ranking by discipline.

The Winners

Fortunately, the three colorful performances didn’t affect the top three performances of the day, which ended up being quite unexpected.

Alessia Zecchini (ITA), the current absolute CWT World Record holder with a dive to 123m (404ft), who we considered as the main contender for the gold, announced a modest dive of 109m (358ft). Alessia easily completed the dive and showed the surface protocol with a bright smile—white card!

The deepest announcement of 113m (371ft) belonged to Natalia Zharkova (UKR). Natalia is an experienced and decorated athlete who began her career in freediving alongside Natalia Molchanova (INT). Still, due to personal matters, she hasn't been competing at the Championships for four years. We were very excited to see her back, and honestly, a bit anxious about her dive—9m (30ft) deeper than her official personal best! Natalia was already on the line when, all of a sudden, the start was delayed. If your heart didn't skip a beat at that moment, then you must not have a heart. But 20 minutes later, the competition resumed, and Natalia returned to the line. The athlete seemed to easily reach the depth and returned to the surface with a smile. What a dive and what a comeback—congratulations to the Champion! It's great to have you back, Natalia.

The bronze medal eventually went to 49-year-old Chiara Obino (ITA; PB - 107m / 351ft), who has been competing since 2014. This time, Chiara performed a smooth 106m (348ft) dive - congratulations!

We can't skip mentioning that all the winners among the women dove with a beautiful and efficient technique. It seems that, compared to the men of freediving, women rely on a honed technique rather than brute force.

To sum up, the winners in CWT among the women are as follows:

Natalia Zharkova (UKR) - 113m (371ft) - World Champion
Alessia Zecchini (ITA) - 109m (358ft) - Vice-Champion
Chiara Obino (ITA) - 106m (348ft) - Bronze medal

What's Next?

September 11 was declared a day off, as organisers need to address safety issues. On September 12th, a new discipline - Free Immersion (FIM) - will be unlocked by the men. In FIM, we are missing several top athletes, including the current world record holder in FIM, Petar Klovar (HRV), who withdrew from the Championship in protest against the mishandled safety incident with Andrey Matveenko (INT), who remains hospitalized. However, we can still expect to see several extra-deep dives. Check the link to the online broadcast and stay tuned for our report!