Mandy surfaces after her record-breaking dive
USA Freediving has announced that Mandy Sumner of Hawaii has won gold in the Constant No Fins discipline at the 2015 Freediving Depth World Championships in Limassol, Cyprus. Mandy performed a dive to 58 meters (190 feet), tying the performance of Sayuri Kinoshita of Japan. This is the USA’s first gold medal in a Freediving Depth World Championships.
Mandy Sumner
Mandy began her dive at 8:10am local time. Her dive took two minutes and twenty-seven seconds to complete the round trip. She retrieved a bottom tag at the baseplate at her announced depth of fifty-eight meters and began her return trip to the surface. Upon returning to the surface, she completed the necessary surface protocol and was awarded a white card by the judges validating her performance. Today’s dive beat her personal best by three meters (10 feet).
Mandy said, “I only began trying Constant No Fins five months ago. The conditions were perfect today, just like Hawaii. I am a bit tired, but this is my personal best so it is to be expected. I want to congratulate my fellow winner Sayuri of Japan for her strong dive as well.”
Constant No Fins (CNF) is one of the most difficult of competitive freediving disciplines, as it requires the athlete to swim to depth and back under their own power with no swimming aids while holding their breath. The athlete may only use arm and leg strokes to perform. The motion is a modified breaststroke style.
USA Freediving is a non-profit association founded on a democratic representation of freediving within the United States and internationally. Founded in 2003, USA Freediving brought together a diverse group of 21 founding members, all interested in the development and growth of freediving. In just six months, this highly dedicated group was able to create an association recognized as the voice of freediving in the United States by the international community. The association has grown to over one hundred members with continued growth expected. http://www.usafreediving.com
For more information about the Freediving Depth World Championships click here.
The International Association for the Development of Freediving, AIDA, is the international sanctioning body for freediving, individual and team competition, and freediving world record attempts. For more information about AIDA please click here.