Italian freediver Alessia Zecchini breaks her own freediving world record at the Philippines’ Camotes Freediving Challenge
Italian freediver, Alessia Zecchini, has broken her own CMAS Free Immersion (FIM) discipline world record at the recent Camotes Freediving Challenge held in Cebu, Philippines.
Zecchini set the new record of 104m (341ft) – three metres deeper than her previous record of 101m (331ft), set in the Bahamas in 2021 – on 19 April, in a time of 3 minutes, 46 seconds. She was the first woman to reach 100m in the CMAS FIM discipline, in Curaçao in 2019.
Free Immersion freediving is undertaken without the use of fins – competitors may pull themselves to the depths and ascend using the competition rope, and must maintain a constant weighting throughout the dive.
Zecchini was initially red-carded – disqualified – following the dive for failing to maintain CMAS surface protocol, which states that the back of the freediver’s head is not allowed to touch the surface of the water. After she appealed the decision, however, stating that she had involuntarily moved her head to protect her airway from an incoming wave, the judges reviewed videos of the dive and reversed their decision, allowing the record to stand.
In an Instagram post celebrating her record, Zecchini thanked her followers for their support. ‘I had asked for all your energies, promising to bring them with me on the dive!’ she wrote. ‘I knew they would help me perform at my best and so it was.
‘I was already ecstatic about the dive beforehand, but now I’m even more so. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who stood by me and accompanied me during this dive with their affection!’
Zecchini is one of the most prolific champion freedivers, and has set 38 world records prior to the Camotes event. Together with her new CMAS record, she also holds the AIDA FIM record of 98m, and the AIDA CWT (Constant Weight with Fins) record of 123m (404ft).
