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Current Freediving World Records

The following is a list of the world records in freediving, as recognized by AIDA (the main regulatory organization), including the world records for breath-holding, depth and distance.

Last Update: 2007-11-01

Freediving World Records - Men

Discipline	Result	Competitor	Nationality	Date
Static Apnea	9:08	Tom Sietas	Germany	2007-05-01
Dynamic Apnea with Fins	244 m	Dave Mullins	New Zealand	2007-09-23
Dynamic Apnea without Fins	186 m	Stig Severinsen	Denmark	2007-07-07
Constant Weight with Fins	112 m	Herbert Nitsch	Austria	2007-11-01
Constant Weight without Fins	83 m	Herbert Nitsch	Austria	2007-10-21
Free Immersion	106 m	Martin Stepanek	Czech Republic	2006-04-03
Variable Weight	140 m	Carlos Coste	Venezuela	2006-05-06
No Limits	214 m	Herbert Nitsch	Germany	2007-06-14

Freediving World Records - Women

Discipline	Result	Competitor	Nationality	Date
Static Apnea	8:00	Natalia Molchanova	Russia	2007-07-06
Dynamic Apnea with Fins	205 m	Natalia Molchanova	Russia	2007-07-05
Dynamic Apnea without Fins	149 m	Natalia Molchanova	Russia	2007-07-07
Constant Weight with Fins	90 m	Sara Campbell	UK	2007-10-20
Constant Weight without Fins	56 m	Sara Campbell	UK	2007-10-21
Free Immersion	81 m	Sara Campbell	UK	2007-10-19
Variable Weight	122 m	Tanya Streeter	USA	2003-07-19
No Limits	160 m	Tanya Streeter	USA	2002-08-17

Definition of Competitive Freediving disciplines

Static Apnea
Maximum time holding breath while submerged under water. This is generally done face-down in a swimming pool.
Dynamic Apnea
Maximum distance covered horizontally under water.
Constant Weight / Constant Ballast
Maximum depth reached by a diver by swimming down and back up without any assistance (eg. line, sled, etc.). Records exist for both with fins and without fins.
Free Immersion
Maximum depth reached by pulling oneself down and up on the competition line. No fins are used.
Variable Weight / Variable Ballast
Maximum depth reached by a diver on a weighted sled before swimming back to the surface either by kicking and/or pulling on a rope.
No Limits
Maximum depth reached by a diver on a weighted sled before being pulled to the surface by a lift bag that is inflated by the diver at depth. This is the discipline that receives the most publicity because of the extreme depths that have been reached. It is also the discipline that has given the sport the most bad publicity because of one or two highly-publicized accidents (eg. Audrey Mestre).

David Blaine Breath Hold Stunt - Drowned Alive

In May 2006, David Blaine completed an attempt of his widely-publicized breath-hold stunt on live TV, titled "Drowned Alive". After spending a week under water (connected to a breathing tube), he began what was supposed to be a 9-minute breath-hold. All looked OK until around six minutes when it was clear that his contractions were rough and I knew he wasn't going to make it. It is a tough feeling when you are part-way through your static and realize that you won't make your target time. He fought the contractions hard, but they became fairly intense and he started losing a bit of air. Kirk yells out, "top off", and Mandy and Martin dove into the acrylic sphere to rescue David Blaine. He blacked out at a time of 7:08. It was sad to see, mostly for the fact that he had built a lot of expectation into his attempt, and was willing to share it live on television. Once recovered, he managed to walk on his own, tears streaming down his face. Speaking into the microphone, he appeared visibly crushed and wreaked from the devastating effects of the last week underwater. He then publicly shares his internal disappointment between pauses for tears.