28/09/2026
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ก๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ง๐ ๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ๐๐๐ฃ
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ข๐ณ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ
๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ
Similar to last year, the 37th AIDA Freediving Depth World Championship โ rebranded as the World Apnea 2026 Depth World Championships โ will take place in Limassol, Cyprus. The location is familiar to many modern athletes, as the Championship was also held there in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Put simply, Limassol, Cyprus, is just as well-known among freedivers as Villefranche-sur-Mer, France, which hosted the first AIDA Depth World Championship in 2005. Also, Limassol is marked in freediving history by many legendary athletes, including Martin ล tฤpรกnek (CZE), Carlos Coste (VEN), Herbert Nitsch (AUT), Guillaume Nรฉry (FRA), and Natalia Molchanova (RUS).
๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐น๐ฒ
Limassol has been chosen for the World Championships many times for a reason โ great diving conditions:
ยฐ Air temperature: 26โ30ยฐC (79โ86ยฐF)
ยฐ Water temperature: From 25โ28ยฐC (77โ82ยฐF) on the surface to 17โ19ยฐC (63โ66ยฐF) at 70m (230ft)
ยฐ Visibility: 30โ40m (98โ131ft)
ยฐ Currents: possible
ยฐ No waves
ยฐ Maximum depth: 170m (558ft)
ยฐ The dive site is located 1.6km (1mi) away from the beach
ยฐ The competition boat has two competition lines and four warm-up lines
Another great advantage of Limassol is a direct evacuation route back to shore and onward to the hospital, with an emergency ambulance on standby. Whatโs more, there is a hyperbaric chamber on standby during the competition, with a qualified hyperbaric specialist on call who has an understanding of freediving.
The World Championship follows AIDA regulations. During the eight competition days, athletes will test themselves in four depth disciplines of competitive freediving: Constant Weight with Fins (CWT), Constant Weight with Bifins (CWTB), Free Immersion (FIM), and Constant Weight without Fins (CNF).
Each athlete will have a single attempt to perform in each discipline. Athletes must be mindful of their limits because, according to AIDA rules, blacking out underwater during a dive results in disqualification for at least one day (and, in more severe cases, for the rest of the competition). There is one rest day in the middle of the event, and women and men compete on different days, which gives athletes time to recover between deep dives and perform at their maximum potential in each discipline. Athletes can aim to win overall or set a new AIDA World Record, with both scenarios earning monetary prizes: 750โ1,500 EUR for a medal in a discipline, 1,000โ2,000 EUR for an overall victory, and an additional 2,000 EUR for a new AIDA World Record.
The competition schedule is as follows:
September 30 - Competition Day 1: CNF Women
October 1 - Competition Day 2: CNF Men
October 2 - Competition Day 3: CWTB Women
October 3 - Competition Day 4: CWTB Men
October 4 - Rest/Backup Day
October 5 - Competition Day 5: FIM Women
October 6 - Competition Day 6: FIM Men
October 7 - Competition Day 7: CWT Women
October 8 - Competition Day 8: CWT Men
๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ต๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐
In total, about 180 athletes announced their participation in the Championship, twice as many as at the previous 2026 CMAS World Championship Freediving Depth, indicating that most of the top athletes are present and we might expect an interesting rivalry.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ (๐๐ช๐ง) ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ (๐๐ช๐ง๐)
Among the women, weโre missing ๐๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ถ (๐๐ง๐) and ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ธ๐ฎ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ธ (๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ก) โ the current absolute World Record holders in CWT with 123m (404ft). Alenka is also a former AIDA CWTB World Record holder with a result of 111m (364ft), while Alessia is the current absolute world record holder in this discipline with 113m (371ft).
The main contender for gold (and maybe even a new World Record) in both fin disciplines among women is the charming ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ผ๐๐ฎ (๐จ๐๐ฅ). Nataliia is in great shape this year: in May, she set a new AIDA CWTB World Record diving to 112m (367ft) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and at the 2026 CMAS World Championship Freediving Depth, Nataliia won the gold in this discipline. Her official personal best in CWT is 117m (384ft). At the 2026 CMAS World Championship Freediving Depth, she dove to 121m (397ft), but blacked out at the surface.
Nataliia's nearest competitor in CWTB and CWT, ๐ญ๐รณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐งรถ๐ฟล๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ธ (๐๐จ๐ก), is a solid 4m (13ft) and 5m (16ft) behind. In CWTB, Zsรณfiaโs PB is 108m (354ft) and in CTW, it is 112m (367ft). Zsรณfia has set many world records in pool and depth disciplines during her short but bright career in competitive freediving, but she has yet to hold a CWTB World Record.
In her turn in CWTB, Zsรณfia is followed by two athletes with the same 100m (328ft) PB: ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ผ (๐จ๐ฆ๐) and ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ท๐ฎ (๐๐ฅ๐ฉ). And in CWT, ๐ข๐น๐ด๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ (๐๐ก๐ง) and Enchante Gallardo (USA) are at Zsรณfia's heels, both with a PB of 110m (361ft). Olga reached this depth in May 2026 during the Only One Aida Event, and Enchante conquered the depth on her second attempt in the World Apnea Championships Precompetition Limassol 2026. Honestly, we couldnโt choose which athlete to bet on.
To win in CWT and CWTB, Nataliia only needs to avoid being greedy with her announcements, and she should be able to take the gold.
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐๐๐ )
In the FIM, the intensity of competition among women is unprecedented; new absolute FIM World Records were set three times this year! By the beginning of 2026, the absolute World Record of 104m (341ft) belonged to Alessia Zecchini (ITA). Then, in April, Zsรณfia Tรถrลcsik (HUN) reached 105m (344ft) in Batangas, Philippines. A month later, Nataliia Zharkova (UKR) made it to 106m (348ft) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Two months later, in July 2026, Enchante Gallardo (USA) set her first world record, equaling Nataliia's feat of 106m in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines. And then again, one month later, Zsรณfia reminded everyone who the boss was, showing a result of 107m (351ft) in Lastovo, Croatia.
And guess what? Now all three athletes โ Zsรณfia, Nataliia, and Enchante โ are in Cyprus. We have no idea how the events will unfold; maybe all three will overestimate their limits in their chase for gold, and Sanda Delija (HRV; PB 102m / 335ft) or ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ธ (๐๐จ๐ก; ๐ฃ๐ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐บ) will seize the initiative in the discipline. What we do know for sure: you don't want to miss the FIM competition day of all on October 5. Save the date!
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ (๐๐ก๐)
The competition in CNF wasn't supposed to bring us any surprises. But the unchallenged leader in the discipline โ Kateryna Sadurska (UKR) โ whose absolute World Record is 88m (289ft) set at CMAS Deep Dominica 2025, isnโt participating in the Championship. Therefore, five athletes with PBs that vary by only 2m (7ft) might simultaneously compete for the gold. They are:
ยฐ Zsรณfia Tรถrลcsik (HUN) - 72m (236ft) at the 35th AIDA Freediving World Championship and a silver medal.
ยฐ Jade MacDonald-Razvi (AUS) - 71m (233ft) at the AIDA Mabini Depth Quest - Season 4 in April 2026; she also attempted a 74m (243ft) dive at the CMAS World Cup Philippines 2026 in Camotes, Philippines, in May 2026, but got a red card.
ยฐ Sanda Delija (HRV) - 71m (233ft) at the 27th AIDA World Championship in 2021; Sanda's most recent result in CNF is 65m (213ft), reached during the AIDA Adriatic Depth Trophy 2026 in June.
ยฐ Naomi Iwazawa (JPN) - 70m (230ft) at the CMAS World Cup Philippines 2026 in Camotes, Philippines, in May 2026.
ยฐ Nataliia Zharkova (UKR) - 70m at the 3rd CMAS World Championship Freediving Depth in Kaล, Tรผrkiye in 2018; at the World Apnea Championships Precompetition in Limassol, 2026. Nataliia also tried to reach this depth but got a red card.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ (๐๐ช๐ง) ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ (๐๐ช๐ง๐)
Among the men, the main rivalry is between ๐๐น๐ฒ๐
๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐น๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐ (๐๐ก๐ง) and ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐น๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ (๐๐ฅ๐ฉ). In CWT, Alexey has a significant advantage over his competitors, being an absolute World Record holder with a result of 136m (446ft) at the 31st AIDA Freediving World Championship in 2023. This year, Petar has been trying to beat Alexey in this discipline, but so far his official result in CWT is only 100m (328ft). Yet, with bifins, Petar managed to dive to 128m (420ft), setting a new World Record at the AIDA Mabini Depth Quest - Season 4 in Batangas, Philippines in April 2026. Then, in July 2026, during the AIDA Asian Freediving Cup 2026 in Panglao, Bohol, Philippines, Alexey took back the record by diving to 129m (423ft). At the moment, it remains the absolute World Record in CWTB.
Technically, Petar can perform a CWT dive with bifins as well, and if he repeats his PB, then he has the bronze to count on.
The main contender for the silver in CWT is pool legend ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ (๐ฃ๐ข๐), with a PB of 130m (427ft). ๐๐น๐ฒ๐
๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ป๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ (๐๐ก๐ง), Vice-Champion of the Championship last year, may also count on a medal with a PB of 120m / 394ft (Aida Freediving World Cup, 2025).
And in CWTB, if Alexey or Petar black out trying to top each otherโs dives, Mateusz (PB 116m) and ๐ข๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐น ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ (OMN; PB 106m / 348ft) will be diving for the bronze.
By the way, in CWTB, weโre heartily missing two French athletes: ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐ฑ (FRA; PB 126m / 413ft) and ๐๐ฏ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐น๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต (FRA; PB 116m / 381ft). Arnaud used to challenge Alexey for the world record in CWTB, and Abdelatif was Vice-Champion at the Championship last year.
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐๐๐ )
In FIM and CNF, Petar Kovar leads, and Alexey Molchanov follows. Alexey used to hold the FIM World Record of 133m / 436ft (Vertical Blue 2023). But since then, Petar has broken the record twice. The first time โ in 2023, exactly here, in Cyprus, during the 31st AIDA Freediving World Championship โ was when he made it to 135m (443ft). And in April 2026, at the AIDA Mabini Depth Quest - Season 4 in Batangas, Philippines, Petar reached 137m (449ft) of depth. Another athlete in this elite 130m (427ft) club, whose members have enormous hypoxia resistance, is Mateusz Malina. His PB is 130m sharp, reached during the AIDA Blue Element Competition 2025. If these three become too passionate about winning and exceed their limits, then ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป ๐ฅ๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป (SVK; PB 116m / 381ft) is the next in line for a medal.
๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ (๐๐ก๐)
In CNF, Petar Klovar is 3m (10ft) ahead of Alexey Molchanov (PB 100m / 328ft). His absolute World Record in CNF of 103m (338ft), set at the Aida Freediving World Cup in 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, is probably the most complicated record to beat, and it also won't be easy for Petar to repeat it in the cool Mediterranean Sea. Mateusz Malina has the third-deepest PB of 92m (302ft). But if something doesn't go as planned for these three athletes, we are at a loss to guess who else might appear on the podium. Let us know if you have any ideas in the comments, and let's watch together to see whoโll win!
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐โ๐ ๐ก๐ฒ๐
๐?
We hope we've gotten you excited about the event and that you won't miss the broadcast on the AIDA Freediving YouTube channel. The show promises to be epic! If you don't have time to watch the broadcast โ 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.
