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2025 CMAS World Championship Freediving Indoor

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

1. Preview of the World Championship
2. Day 1 (May 20): DNF
New Absolute World Record in DNF (Female)
New CMAS World Record in DNF (Male)
3. Day 2 (May 21): DYNB
New Absolute World Record in DYNB (Male)
4. Day 3 (May 23): STA
5. Day 4 (May 24): DYN

Preview Of The World Championship

The 2025 freediving competition season kicks off on May 19th in Athens, Greece, with the CMAS World Championship Freediving Indoor.

Almost every nation with a coastline has its own unique tradition and culture of diving. Long before the invention of diving bells or suits, freediving was the only way to collect mollusks, sponges, pearls, or even treasures from shipwrecks.

In Greece, nearly everything seems to trace back to Aristotle, and freediving is no exception. Aristotle wrote about underwater exploration and the gathering of sponges and mollusks. Later, another great mind of Ancient Greece, Archimedes, introduced the principle of buoyancy—something every freediver learns in a freediving course (for non-freedivers: the principle states that the upward buoyant force exerted on a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid the body displaces).

Let the wisdom of the ancients and Archimedes’ principle support the athletes in the water, as we begin our traditional coverage of the competition season to support them on land.

Pool Condition And Competition Schedule

The Championship will take place in the Olympic Aquatic Centre, which hosted the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The center is renowned for its ability to accommodate various water sports events, and the pool used for the Championship will have the following conditions:

Lane length: 50m (164ft)
Number of lanes: 8
Lane depth: 2m (7ft)
Lane width: 2.6m (8.5ft)
Water temperature: 26°C +/-1°C (78.8°F)

Freedivers will compete in four disciplines according to the following schedule:

May 20 - Dynamic without Fins (DNF)
May 21 - Dynamic with Bi-fins (DYN BF)
May 22 - Rest day for freedivers (speedswimming competition will take place)
May 23 - Static (STA) and Speed Apnea 4x50m
May 24 - Dynamic (DYN)

The winners of each discipline will be announced at the end of every competition day.

Competing Athletes At CMAS World Championship Freediving Indoor 2025

About 200 athletes from 40 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 national championships this year. So, we feel safe assuming that athletes were working hard to prepare for the Championship and are in good shape.

STA

We start our pre-competition by discipline forecast with STA because we just can't wait to congratulate Heike Schwerdtner (GER) on her new absolute World Record of 9:22, set earlier this year according to AIDA rules during the Stockholm Apnea AIDA STA WARS CO2 STRIKES BACK L3. Heike's star rose last year, when during the 32nd AIDA Freediving World Championship in Kaunas, Lithuania, she set her first STA World Record of 09:07, beating the long-standing world record of 09:02 set by Natalia Molchanova. It's exciting to see Heike progress so fast, from 09:07 to 09:22, in less than a year. Considering the current CMAS World Record in STA, set by Veronika Dittes (AUS), is only 08:53, it seems inevitable that Heike will beat it, setting, if not a new absolute, then for sure a new CMAS World Record in STA and winning the gold.

Molchanovs athlete Heike Schwerdtner will compete at the CMAS World Championship Freediving Indoor. Photo ©private

The strongest contender for the silver medal in STA is Julia Kozerska (POL), whose official personal best (PB) in STA, reached during the 30th AIDA Pool World Championship in 2023, is 08:03. That year, the result brought her a silver medal. Last year wasn't that successful for Julia STA-wise, but hopefully she will be luckier in 2025.

For third place, the fight will be more intense as we simultaneously have three athletes with very close results: Kathryn Nevatt (NZL)—7:45, Iiris Ala-Olla (FIN)—7:42, and Yuriko Ichihara (JPN)—7:36. In 2024, during the 32nd AIDA Freediving World Championship, Iris and Yuriko miraculously showed the same result of 7:36. However, Iiris's announced performance was closer to her realized performance; therefore, she received the silver medal and Yuriko the bronze. Despite her active performances at the national level, Kathryn hasn't competed at the World Championships for a while. It's great to see you back, Kathryn!

Stéphane Mifsud (FRA) set the absolute men's world record in a 2009 AIDA Individual World Record Attempt—an unattainable 11:35—but hasn’t been seen at a competition venue for a while. Among those present at the Championship, Branko Petrovic (SRB) has demonstrated the longest breath-hold, setting the CMAS STA World Record to 10:45 in 2017. Branko is closely followed by Andrej Ropret (SVN), who can hold his breath for 10:23. But that was also several years ago, and it's hard to predict in what shape Branko and Andrej are right now. The other two athletes, Goran Čolak (HRV), and Mateusz Malina (POL), whose official PBs are 9:45 and 9:35, respectively, also reached these results several years ago but haven't demonstrated anything close to them in competition over the past two years.

Therefore, we assume that the leading contenders for the medals are three other men with results of over 9 minutes attained in 2024–2025: Gi Mun Kwak (KOR)—09:49, Aleksandr Maksimov (INT)—09:10, and David Spreitz Elings (SWE)—09:05.

DYN

In the dynamic disciplines, the rivalry promises to be even more intense than in STA. In DYN particularly, all the current and former female and male world record holders are present. Among the women, the current absolute world record holder is Mirela Kardašević (HRV) with a result of 282m (925ft) reached during the Championship last year.

Mirela's nearest contender and the current AIDA World Record holder, Magdalena Solich-Talanda (POL), is just 1m (3ft) behind. Magdalena swam a distance of 281m (922ft) during the CMAS Polish National Championships in April 2025. Julia Kozerska (POL), Zsófia Törőcsik (HUN), and Livia Bregonzio (ITA), with official PBs of 277m (909ft), 266m (873ft), and 263.5m (865ft), respectively, will compete for the bronze. But if one of the leading athletes exceeds their limits or makes a mistake and is disqualified, a silver medal could be up for grabs.

The current absolute world record holder in DYN among the men is Mateusz Malina (POL). During the CMAS World Freediving Indoor Championship Belgrade 2022, Mateusz covered 321.43m (1,055ft) on one breath, improving his previous world record in this discipline by 4.9m (16ft).

Two athletes, Ming (William Joy) Jin (CHN) and Guillaume Bourdila (FRA), both of who have performances exceeding 300m (984ft), will challenge Mateusz for the gold or share the silver. However, we’d bet on Guillaume, as he achieved his current official PB of 306.60m (1,006ft) under the pressure of the CMAS World Championship Kuwait 2023. William, despite being the current AIDA World Record holder in DYN with 307m (1,007ft) and the AIDA Chinese National Record holder with 311m (1,020ft), usually doesn’t risk pushing limits during World Championships, instead playing it safe with moderate results.

So, in total, we have three contenders for the gold with current official PBs of over 300m (984ft) and three men with results equal to or almost 300m. Mauro Generali (ITA) swam 300m during the CMAS World Freediving Indoor Championship Belgrade 2024. Goran Čolak (HRV) reached his official PB of 299.50m (983ft) during the CMAS World Championship Kuwait 2023, and Rolando Salgado (CUB) swam the same distance during the UNU AIDA Tampa Bay Freediving Challenge 2024. Rolando is a new athlete who made a strong debut at the Championships last year. It's great to see him in the list of participants again with new PBs!

Alexey Molchanov (INT), who prefers depth disciplines over pool, nonetheless joined the 300m+ (984ft+) club this year. In March, during the CMAS World Games Series Chengdu 2025, Alexey swam a distance of 300m with a monofin. This performance qualifies him for the World Games 2025, which takes place in August in Chengdu, China. Unfortunately, Alexey will not participate in this CMAS Indoor Championship.

DYNB

In DYNB, the two main rivals among women are the same as in DYN, but in reverse order: Magdalena Solich-Talanda (POL) and Mirela Kardašević (HRV). Magdalena is the current absolute world record holder in this discipline with 263.64m (865ft), reached during the CMAS World Championship Kuwait 2023. Mirela's official PB in DYNB is 260m (853ft), which she swam during the CMAS World Freediving Indoor Championship Belgrade 2024. At last year's Championship, Magdalena overtook Mirela by only 2.5m (8ft). We can't wait to see how the events will unfold this year!

Once Magdalena and Mirela decide who will be the first and second this year, at least three athletes have a chance at the bronze. The main leader in this race is Livia Bregonzio (ITA), who has a PB of 248m (814ft). Livia is followed by Natalie Bruce (USA) and Isabel Sánchez-Arán (ESP), who have close official PBs of 234m (768ft) and 230m (755ft), respectively.

Goran Čolak (HRV) is the absolute world record holder in DYNB among the men, with a 292.15m (958ft) result achieved at the CMAS World Championship Kuwait 2023. At last year's Championship, Goran attempted to swim 294m (965ft) with bifins. Alas, at the surface, he experienced a samba and dipped his mouth during the surface protocol, resulting in a red card. We look forward to seeing Goran attempt the feat again this year with better luck.

If luck isn't on Goran's side, then Mateusz Malina (POL) with an official PB of 290m (951ft) will be next in line for the gold. If Ming (William Joy) Jin (CHN) is brave enough to push his limits to his official maximum of 287m (941ft), he may also count on a medal. And again, we're left with a group of three: Mauro Generali (ITA), Guillaume Bourdila (FRA), and Mikhail Briantcev (INT), with close results of 275m (902ft), 274m (899ft), and 274m, respectively, who could potentially medal if one of the leaders slips.

DNF

Only in DNF are we not expecting any unexpected twists. In this most complicated discipline, there's an absolute leader among both women and men that the following athletes can hardly challenge, as the gap is too large. These leaders are teammates Julia Kozerska (POL) and Mateusz Malina (POL), with PBs of 213m (699ft) and 250m (820ft), respectively. Julia is followed by Magdalena Solich-Talanda (POL) and Mirela Kardašević (HRV), both having achieved the same result of 209m (686ft).

Mateusz is followed by three athletes with very close results: Vanja Peleš (HRV), Guillaume Bourdila (FRA), and Goran Čolak (HRV), whose official PBs are 227m (745ft), 227m, and 225m (738ft), respectively.

That’s it—we’ve made our predictions. However, under the pressure of the Championship and with only one opportunity to win or lose, anything can happen. Only a true freediver will be able to overcome anxiety and competitive fervor to reach the top. Let the best of the best win!

What’s Next?

We hope we’ve sparked your interest and that you won't miss the broadcast (available on CMAS TV). The show promises to be epic! 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 to catch our updates.

To make the Championship even more fun, we’re preparing a special celebration at the end of the competition. Follow our news from the Championship so you don’t miss out!

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

NEW ABSOLUTE WORLD RECORD IN DNF (Female)

On May 20, 2025, at the CMAS World Championship Freediving Indoor in Athens, Julia Kozerska (POL) set a new absolute world record in Dynamic without Fins (DNF), diving 214m (702ft). She is now the first woman ever to reach this distance.

A New Benchmark in Women’s DNF

With this result, Julia broke her previous CMAS World Record of 211.5m (694ft), set in 2024, and surpassed her absolute world record of 213m (699ft) set at the 2023 AIDA World Championship in Jeju, South Korea. The dive was completed under CMAS regulations in a 50m (164ft) pool. Competing in a 50m pool makes the achievement even more remarkable. With fewer wall push-offs and longer swims between turns, it’s considered significantly harder than performing DNF in a 25m (82ft) pool. But Julia has made a habit of doing the hard things — and making them look effortless.

Final Heat: Kozerska vs. Solich-Talanda

The final heat of the competition featured two Polish athletes: Julia Kozerska and Magdalena Solich-Talanda. Magdalena previously held the AIDA World Record of 209m (686ft), set on May 11, 2022, at the NoxyCup Hungarian Open Indoor Freediving Championship in Budapest, Hungary. The two athletes have a long-standing rivalry in DNF, frequently trading top positions at international competitions. In Athens, Julia outperformed Magdalena by 17m (56ft) and secured the gold medal with a new world record.

Recent World Record Progression by Julia Kozerska

All of Julia’s recent world records have been achieved in 50m pools:

June 12, 2022 – Belgrade, Serbia – CMAS World Championship – 210m (689ft)
June 21, 2022 – Burgas, Bulgaria – AIDA World Championship – 209m (686ft)
April 1, 2023 – Debica, Poland – Polish Nationals – 210.8m (692ft)
June 13, 2023 – Jeju, South Korea – AIDA World Championship – 213m (699ft)
July 6, 2024 – Belgrade, Serbia – CMAS World Championship – 211.5m (692ft)
May 20, 2025 – Athens, Greece – CMAS World Championship – 214m (702ft)

Raising the Bar

Julia Kozerska’s consistent improvements and high-level performances at both CMAS and AIDA Championships underline her leading role in the sport. This latest 214m (702ft) dive sets a new benchmark in women’s DNF and continues her legacy as one of the most accomplished freedivers in the discipline. Congratulations, Julia — another milestone reached!

NEW CMAS WORLD RECORD IN DNF (MALE)

On May 20, 2025, during the CMAS World Championship Freediving Indoor in Athens, Greece, Mateusz Malina (POL) set a new CMAS World Record in Dynamic without Fins (DNF), covering 239.5m (785ft) in a 50m (164ft) pool at the Olympic Aquatic Centre.

A Consistent Reign

Mateusz Malina is a very experienced freediver who has been competing since 2009 and has dominated the DNF discipline for over a decade. In 2014, he surpassed the previous world record of 225m (738ft) held by Goran Čolak (CRO) by diving 226m (741ft), becoming the absolute world record holder in DNF — a title he has maintained ever since.

His latest performance in Athens adds more meters to this legacy. Swimming with controlled precision, Malina completed 239.5m (786ft), setting a new CMAS DNF world record and securing the gold medal.

Narrow Margins, Strong Field

Malina’s closest rival, Kai-Hsiang Chan (TPE), surprised the fans with a 235.5m (773ft) clean performance in an earlier heat, making for a tense finish to the discipline. Despite not swimming head-to-head, the narrow 4-meter (13-foot) margin highlighted the growing global competition in DNF. Malina, however, remained composed and delivered when it counted most.

Breaking His Own Record

This new record surpasses Malina’s previous CMAS DNF world record of 238m (780ft), set just a year earlier at the CMAS World Cup Pool Series in Łódź, Poland on May 2, 2024. That performance had already raised the bar in CMAS competitions in a 50m pool — and now he’s pushed it even further.

Absolute World Record Still Stands

However, we know that the athlete can do much more, at least in a 25m (82ft) pool. Malina also holds the absolute world record in DNF — 250m (820ft) — achieved under AIDA rules on May 1, 2022, at the Polish Freediving Pool Championships in Dębica, Poland.

More than a decade after first entering the competitive scene, Mateusz Malina continues to push the boundaries of human performance in freediving. His consistency, technique, and mental endurance remain unmatched in the DNF discipline.

Congratulations to Mateusz Malina — you did it again!

Day 1 (May 20): DNF

May 20th was the first competition day at the 2025 CMAS World Championship Freediving Indoor. At the Olympic Aquatic Centre in Athens, Greece, athletes competed in Dynamic without Fins (DNF). All the dives were grouped into three age categories: Juniors (15 - 17), Seniors (18 - 49), and Masters (50 - 70+).

Men and women competed on the same day — in total, there were 134 competitors: 13 juniors, 78 seniors, and 43 masters.

The broadcast was visually excellent. It featured two athletes swimming per heat, and each was visible on the screen for nearly every second of their dive. This competition highlight allowed viewers to compare of swimming techniques, style, and speed; paired with the right commentary, it adds excitement to the viewing experience. Unfortunately, much of the feedback on social media suggested that the competition commentary did not meet audience expectations.

The Winners Among the Men

The men performed first, and the dives were arranged so that the strongest athletes, capable of winning medals or even setting new records, were swimming side by side in the last 4 - 5 heats. Even in the start list, attentive fans could notice the first strange thing of the day. One of the potential contenders for a medal, Goran Čolak (HRV) with a personal best (PB) of 225m (738ft), hadn’t announced his performance.

Until the 8th heat, nothing unusual happened. The athletes were performing more or less within their limits, with only one underwater and two surface blackouts and several red cards for mistakes in surface protocols.

A Grand Debut

But during the 8th heat, we were served a great surprise. Debuting at the Championship, Piotr Kubiak (POL) smoothly and in a strong fashion swam as far as 225.5m (740ft) on one breath! According to the available freediving statistics, Piotr has been competing at freediving competitions since 2023 — just two years. This dive was his first dive at the World Championship, and what a dive it was!

Even experienced and decorated Guillaume Bourdila (FRA), whose official PB in the discipline is 236m / 774ft (CMAS Freediving Indoor European Open Championship; June 2019; İstanbul, Turkey), performing in the 3rd-to-last heat, failed to surpass Piotr's distance. Guillaume finished with 221.5 m (727ft), but eventually was unable to qualify for a medal.

An Unexpected Performance

And you might have never guessed who was the first athlete to swim further than Piotr — we definitely didn’t see it coming. In the penultimate heat, Kai-Hsiang Chan (TPE) performed a huge dive of 235.5m (773ft). Until May 20th, Kai-Hsiang's official PB in DNF was the dive of 216.5m (710ft), performed during the 2024 CMAS World Freediving Indoor Championship in Belgrade, Serbia. His most recent official DNF dive was at a relatively modest distance of 205.5m (674ft) during CMAS The World Games Series Chengdu 2025 in March. This made his dive today seem even more miraculous at, once again, a considerable distance of 235.5m. Paolo Fontana (ITA), who was swimming on the neighboring lane with Kai-Hsiang, experienced an underwater blackout while attempting to reach the 200m (656ft) benchmark. Fortunately, it didn't affect Kai-Hsiang; he calmly finished his dive, meticulously took off his goggles and nose clip, signaled "I'm OK," and then celebrated a well-deserved white card. But at that moment, he couldn't know where this would lead him as we still had one more heat to go.

The Final Heat that Decided the Gold

In the last heat, the maestro and the absolute world record holder in DNF, Mateusz Malina (POL), and the talented Vanja Peleš (HRV) performed, with previous official PBs of 250m (820ft) and 227m (745ft), respectively. Vanja didn't surpass his previous PB, finishing his dive at 203.5m (668ft) and withdrawing from the competition for medals. Mateusz, however, kept swimming and eventually managed to reach the 239.5m (786ft) benchmark — the new CMAS World Record and Championship title are his once again! Notably, Mateusz was swimming without any facial equipment (like goggles or a nose clip), most likely for a better activation of the mammalian diving reflex, which allows him to swim this far.

So, we have our incredible winners, which are as follows:

Mateusz Malina (POL) - 239.5m (786ft) - new CMAS World Record and World Champion
Kai-Hsiang Chan (TPE) - 235.5m (773ft) - Vice-Champion
Piotr Kubiak (POL) - 221.5m (727ft) - Bronze medal

Congratulations, gentlemen, on a new world record, incredible new official PBs, and a mind-blowing debut — it was epic!

A Very Honorable Mention

We call for a special round of applause for Molchanovs junior athlete, Abdulmajeed Alsafi (KSA). Majeed performed at his first-ever World Championship in the junior category and won a silver medal with an impressive result of 127m (417ft) — congratulations!

The Winners Among the Women

The women performed a bit more predictably according to our forecast, and the winners were conservatively defined during the last two heats. In the 3rd-to-final heat, there were also two strong contenders for medals: Mirela Kardašević (HRV) and Livia Bregonzio (ITA), the experienced and decorated athletes, whose official PBs are 209m (686ft) and 179m (587ft), respectively. But they withdrew from the competition for the medals, swimming significantly less than their official PBs. Livia finished her dive with 164m (538ft), while Mirela managed it a bit further, until the 193.5m (635ft) benchmark.

Redemption in the Penultimate Heat

In the penultimate heat, Zsófia Törőcsik (HUN) and Nara Martins Ishikawa (BRA) went head-to-head. Nara quickly surfaced after reaching the 133.5m (438ft) benchmark, leaving Zsófia alone to push her limits. And Zsófia pushed! Swimming with a smooth and beautiful technique, Zsófia hit the wall four times, making it to 200m (656ft)! The athlete surfaced appearing close to her limits but didn't forget strong recovery breathing, successfully performing the surface protocol - a white card! Zsófia debuted at the 32nd AIDA Freediving World Championship in June 2024, where she won her first silver medal in DNF with a 180m (590ft), surpassing an experienced contender, Kateryna Sadurska (UKR), by 3m (10ft). Just a week after that, at the CMAS 14th World Championship Freediving Indoor, Zsófia attempted to conquer the distance of 200m for the first time but lost consciousness underwater just 3m (10ft) away from the wall. A year later, she's made a dream come true and became the fourth woman in the world who ever managed such a distance without fins.

A Milestone in the Final Heat

The fate of Zsófia's medal was decided in the last heat, when the current and former world record holders in DNF, Julia Kozerska (POL) and Magdalena Solich-Talanda (POL), respectively, were performing. It was a pure pleasure to see both the athletes swimming together. Magdalena swam much faster and finished first after covering a 197m (646ft) distance, 12m (39ft) behind her official PB. Julia kept swimming and didn't stop until.... she set a new absolute World Record with a result of 214m (702ft), improving her previous best result by 1m (3ft)!

This means that our extraordinary winners among the women are as follows:

Julia Kozerska (POL) - 214m (702ft) - new absolute World Record and World Champion
Zsófia Törőcsik (HUN) - 200m (656ft) - Vice-Champion
Magdalena Solich-Talanda (POL) - 197m (646ft) - Bronze medal

Congratulations, ladies, on the stunning dives — your dedication, skill, and grace under pressure continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in this sport!

NEW ABSOLUTE WORLD RECORD IN DYNB

On May 21st, in Athens, Greece, Mateusz Malina (POL) made history at the 2025 CMAS World Championship Freediving Indoor. The athlete became the first person ever to manage swimming 300m (984ft) with bifins on one breath. This is a new absolute world record in Dynamic With Bifins (DYNB). Congratulations, maestro!

A symbolic benchmark

The 300m distance in the pool is probably as symbolic and desirable as 100m (328ft) in depth; the only difference is that much fewer people have managed to reach it. It all started with Arthur Guérin-Boëri (FRA), who was the first human to cover this distance on one breath with a monofin, which he achieved at the CMAS Indoor World Championship in Ligano, Italy, on the historic day of June 11, 2016.

Just a month later, during the AIDA Pool World Championships 2016 on July 2nd, Mateusz accomplished the same feat of diving 300m with a monofin. But he shared the glory with Panagiotakis Giorgos (GRE), who swam just as far during the same Championship.

Since then, only four other men have managed 300m+ with a monofin.

The first, one and only

Nine years after his first 300m dive, Mateusz hit the wall four times again, only this time he was swimming with bifins.

So, in total, only six men in the world have completed such a distance, and only one — Mateusz Malina — did it in two different disciplines. The dive took him 4 minutes, and it wasn't so easy. His main competitor and a former absolute world record holder in DYNB, Goran Čolak (HRV), with an official personal best of 292.15m (958ft), was gracefully finning on the neighboring lane but gave up quickly, surfacing at 203m (666ft).

Mateusz apparently traded grace for a greater focus on relaxation, swimming much slower, and eventually, more successfully. And that's how history was made. Once again, congratulations, Mateusz — we are in awe!

Day 2 (May 21): DYNB

May 21st was the second competition day at the 2025 CMAS World Championship Freediving Indoor in Athens, Greece. On this day, athletes competed in Dynamic with Bi-fins (DYN BF). A traditional reminder about this discipline is that dolphin kicks are not allowed except within the first 3m (10ft) when a freediver starts and after each turn.

All the dives were grouped into three age categories: Juniors (15 - 17), Seniors (18 - 49), and Masters (50 - 70+).

In short:

182 athletes participated: 14 juniors, 121 seniors, and 47 masters
Realized distance ranged from 80m - 300m (262 - 984ft)
18 red cards were given
no yellow cards were issued
1 new absolute World Record

Winners Among the Women

Unlike the first day, on the second, the women started first. And were we surprised by who stood on the podium? Not at all — in fact, we correctly guessed the three top women!

The dives were again grouped so that the strongest contenders for medals were swimming in the last three heats. However, already in the third heat, Natalie Bruce (USA) performed such a strong dive of 240.5m (789ft) that it remained unbeaten until the third-to-last heat. There, the rising star, Zsófia Törőcsik (HUN), swam as far as 250m (820ft), and with just one dive, improved her previous official personal best (PB) in DYNB set in October 2024 during AIDA Hydro Dynamic, by 50m (164ft). Incredible!

The previous and the current absolute world record holders in DYNB, Mirela Kardašević (HRV) and Magdalena Solich-Talanda (POL), performed in the penultimate and final heats, respectively.

Mirela was accompanied by Cristina Rodda (ITA), and Magdalena swam in the company of Livia Bregonzio (ITA). Both Italian athletes qualify to compete within the masters category, but from championship to championship, they continue performing in the senior group with remarkable results. Cristina finished at 221m (725ft) and became 8th in the competition ranking for the discipline. Livia performed a 249m (817ft) dive, set a new CMAS World Record in the Masters 50-59 category, and was ranked fourth in the discipline, missing third place by only a meter (3ft) — you are such an inspiration!

When Cristina and Livia finished their dives, Mirela and Magdalena continued swimming. It seemed that Mirela was targeting a new world record and worked hard for it (we’ll never get tired of mentioning how beautiful her technique is throughout her entire dive!). She finished the dive at 263m (863ft), just 0.5m (1.6ft) less than Magdalena's world record! But, fortunately for Mirela, Magdalena didn't seem to have plans to beat her own previous record; therefore, she calmly enjoyed her dive and finished when she felt it was time at 260.5m (855ft).

This means that the winners among the women are as follows:

Mirela Kardašević (HRV) - 263m (863ft) - World Champion
Magdalena Solich-Talanda (POL) - 260.5m (855ft) - Vice-Champion
Zsófia Törőcsik (HUN) - 250m (820ft) - Bronze medal

Congratulations to all the wonder women!

Winners Among the Men

Men started their performances with two red cards and modest results. Among the women, a 240m (787ft) dive had already occurred in the third heat; the men didn't get that far until the 19th heat, when Ming (William Joy) Jin (CHN) eventually performed a 250m (820ft) dive. This result is 37m (121ft) less than his official PB in DYNB. Nonetheless, it allowed him to be placed seventh in the ranking by discipline. And only in the 20th heat did the men's dives surpass the women's. Guillaume Bourdila (FRA), whose official PB was 274.5m / 901ft (2024 CMAS World Freediving Indoor Championship; Belgrade, Serbia), swam as far as 285m (935ft). It was such a massive dive that no one managed to beat Guillaume until the final heat.

In the penultimate heat, Mauro Generali (ITA) tried to repeat Guillaume's feat but had to surface at 282m (925ft), being very close to his limits. He increased his previous PB DYNB dive by 6.5m (21ft). Hrvoje Skoric (HRV), Po-Yen Lee (TPE), and Boris Milošić (HRV), also made a great leap within a year and increased their official PBs by 12.02m (39ft), 8m (26ft), and 6.5m (21ft), respectively. However, with the results of 278m (912ft), 258m (846ft), and 250.5m (822ft), they were ranked only 4th to 6th places.

Now it’s time to talk about the last heat, when Mateusz Malina (POL) and Goran Čolak (HRV) performed. At the beginning of the heat, Goran was the current absolute world record holder with a 292.15m (958ft) performance, reached during the 2023 CMAS World Championship, Kuwait. But at the end, his title would change hands. Perhaps Goran wasn’t feeling well — he completed his dive at 203m (666ft), resulting in a white card but withdrawing from the rivalry for medals. Mateusz, on the other hand, continued his dive until he reached the mind-blowing benchmark of 300m (984ft) and became the first man ever to dive this far with bifins. His dive became a new absolute world record in DYNB, improving the previous world record set by Goran by 7.85m (26ft) in one go — congratulations, Champion!

To sum up, the winners among men are as follows:

Mateusz Malina (POL) - 300m (984ft) - new absolute world record and World Champion
Guillaume Bourdila (FRA) - 285m (935ft) - Vice-Champion
Mauro Generali (ITA) - 282m (925ft) - Bronze medal

Congratulations, gentlemen — you were incredible, but we’re excited to know you can go even further!

A Very Honorable Mention

Our sports-reporting capacity is quite limited as we are not a media agency, but only a team of two. Therefore, we usually mainly focus on senior athletes. However, once again, we would like to make a special mention of our junior athlete, Abdulmajeed Alsafi (KSA). Majeed is 16 years old but has already achieved impressive results. On the first competition day, he won a silver medal in DNF with a dive of 127m (417ft). And on the very next day, he accomplished an even greater feat by diving 190m (623ft) with bifins (and a wonderful finning technique) and winning the gold — congratulations, Champion!