Diving (except Freediving) is not directly a sport with competitions, direct competition, comparison of results. Therefore, where we refer to such terms as records in technical diving, “deep diving,” or record diving on specific equipment or in specific conditions like caves or wrecks; we are actually describing separate attempts to make a difficult or record dive. This is more akin to describing the performance of Himalayan conquerors than a sports competition. Only in Freediving where there are direct competitions, organizations with their own championships and the breaking of world records during competitions, this is done very similarly to where we talk about the record-breaking long jump, high jump or pole vault.
Deepest air dives (deepest SCUBA dives, free diving records)
The first records were set by the team of the legendary father of free diving, namely Jacques Cousteau. Divers from this team regularly went airborne at depths of around 90 meters. On September 17, 1947, they attacked depths of less than 90 meters. One of the team members, Senior Petty Officer Fargues, managed to sign on the plaque at a depth of 120 meters, but unfortunately subsequently lost consciousness and died despite a quick extraction to the surface. (“Assault to the Sea’s Deep” by Philippe Tailliez.)
Deepest open-circuit dives
Nuno Gomes made a dive to a depth of 318.25m in Dahab, Egypt, in 2005.
Pascale Bernabé , a French diver made a dive to a depth of 330 meters near the coast of Corsica on June 5, 2005. The dive lasted 10 minutes and the entire dive lasted 9 hours.
Ahmed Gabr made the deepest open-circuit dive to date to a depth of 332 meters on September 18, 2014 in Dahab, Egypt. He made a very efficient dive of only 15 minutes at this depth, but even so, the entire dive took 13 hours and 35 minutes due to decompression.
Deepest dives on rebs
Dive Show made a 270-meter deep dive on a reba dive in Boesmansgat cave in South Africa in 2004.
Will Goodman made a 290-meter dive on the JJ rebrider in Indonesia on March 26, 2014.
The dive lasted 9 hours and 57 minutes after a very quick 9-minute plunge.
Kimberly Inge made a 198-meter dive on the rEvo rebrider on May 30, 2012. The dive lasted 6 hours and 2 minutes.
Deepest cave dives
Nuno Gomes made the deepest cave dive to a depth of 282 meters in Boesmansgat cave in South Africa in 1996.
Verna van Schaik in 2004 made the deepest c0biest cave dive to a depth of 221 meters in the Boesmansgat cave in South Africa.
Deepest dives on wrecks
Record wreck dives are not as well cataloged as simply the deepest dives.
On May 29, 2005, diver Rob Lalumiere made a 209-meter dive to the wreck of the USS Cooper lying near Ormoc, Philippines. The USS Cooper sank torpedoed by the Japanese on December 3, 1944.
Also in 2005, divers Leigh Cunningham and Mark Andrews made a 205-meter dive to the Yolanda wreck in Egypt.
“Highest” dive i.e. a dive made from a body of water with the highest altitude above sea level
The record was set by Erno Tósoki, a Hungarian diver and climber. The dive took place on February 21, 2016 in Lake Ojos Del Salado, a reservoir in the highest volcano on earth on the Argentine-Chilean border. Erno Tosoki dived into the lake at 6382 meters above sea level. The dive lasted only 10 minutes to a depth of 2 meters, but is a record dive that will be difficult to beat because another body of water on earth at a higher altitude is unknown.
Records in free diving
Freediving diving has several competitors. In short, these are records for the greatest depth, the greatest distance, and the longest breath-holding.
The most popular freediving disciplines
To the greatest depth
CNF – (Constant weight apnea without fins) – constant weight apnea without fins. Like fixed ballast but no swimming aids (like fins) are allowed.
CWT – (Constant weight apnea) – constant weight. The diver plunges along the rope. Only a single rope hold is allowed for stopping the descent and starting the ascent. The ballast cannot be shed. A diver can use two fins or a mono fin doing leg work as for dolphin or alternately as for keel.
FIM – (Free immersion apnea) – Free immersion. Plunge along a vertical rope. No ballast and no fins. Free pulling up and down along the rope is allowed. The player can be positioned with his feet or head down.
NLT – No-limits apnea depth. Any aids to immersion as well as as ascent are allowed. Most divers use a weighted elevator down and an inflated balloon to pull themselves up. The most extreme competition.
One man
One breath
One ocean
At the greatest distance
DNF – Dynamic apnea without fins horizontal distance – maximum underwater distance in the pool without fins.
DYN – Dynamic apnea with fins horizontal distance – maximum underwater distance in the pool with fins, both typical fins and mono fins are allowed.
For the longest breath-holding
STA – Static apnea max. Time – static, the diver holds his breath for as long as possible with his face in the water while lying or standing at the bottom of the pool.
STA O2 – Static apnea with pure oxygen max. Time – static after oxygen ventilation. The diver breathes up to 30 minutes of 100% oxygen before attempting to hold his breath.
Records in breath-hold diving
NLT – No-limits apnea depth
Deepest No-Limits Freedive)
Men’s competition – 253.2 meters Herbert Nitsch (AUT) June 6, 2012
Women’s competition – 160 meters Tanya Streeter (UK) August 17, 2002.
STA O2 – Static apnea with pure oxygen max. Statics after oxygen ventilation
Record 24:11″ Budimir Šobat (CRO) February 24, 2018
STA – Static apnea max. Statics
Men’s competition – 11 min 35 sec Stéphane Mifsud (FRA) June 8, 2009
Women’s competition – 9 min 02 sec Natalia Molchanova June 29, 2013
DYN – Dynamic apnea with fins horizontal distance – maximum underwater distance in a pool with fins
Men’s competition 316.53 meters – Mateusz Malina (POL) June 22, 2019
Women’s competition 257 meters – Magdalena Solich-Talanda (POL) October 13, 2019.
DNF – Dynamic apnea without fins horizontal distance – maximum underwater distance in the pool without fins.
Men’s competition 250 meters – Mateusz Malina (POL) May 23, 2022
Women’s competition 191 meters – Magdalena Solich-Talanda (POL) July 1, 2017.
CWT – (Constant weight apnea) – constant weight.
Men’s competition 130 meters – Alexey Molchanov July 18, 2018 2018
Women’s competition 114 meters – Alenka Artnik (SVN) November 13, 2020
FIM – (Free immersion apnea) – Free immersion
Men’s competition – 125 meters – Alexey Molchanov July 24, 2018
Women’s competition – 98 meters – Alessia Zecchini (ITA) October 16, 2019.
