18/07/2023
𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗕𝗟𝗨𝗘 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯
𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲
𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱
Vertical Blue 2023 will be held for the 14th time on July 20 - 30. It's been the biggest private competition in freediving since 2008 and is organized by 18x World Record Holder William Trubridge. This year, the primary sponsor of the event is Garmin. All the athletes will wear the company’s Descent Mk2 dive computer during their official performances. Thanks to the sponsors, the Diveye broadcast will be accessible for free on the Vertical Blue YouTube channel.
𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
Unlike the freediving World Championships, where organizers choose different locations every year, Vertical Blue is always held at Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas. The place is as legendary as the event because of the countless world records set there. Dean's Blue Hole is a vertical underwater cave located several meters from the beach. It's usually called a natural vertical pool with the following diving conditions:
⚬ Maximum depth of 150m (492ft)
⚬ Water temperature of 28 - 29°C (82 - 84°F)
⚬ No thermocline
⚬ No currents or waves
⚬ Perfect visibility
The only downside of Dean's Blue Hole is the darkness. Athletes diving deeper than 60m (197ft) usually use headlamps to light up the rope; otherwise, they can become disoriented.
𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀
The event schedule is also favorable for athletes. With nine competition days and two days off on July 23 and July 27, athletes can choose any six days to perform. They can also choose any discipline from the available four disciplines of competitive depth freediving: CWT, CWTB, FIM, and CNF. The only thing the athletes cannot choose is which freediving governing body’s rules their dives will be judged by. This year, Vertical Blue is held according to AIDA rules and will have world-record status.
In addition, organizers have also developed their own rules and procedures for doping control, which covers the time from the event registration, through to the moment of arrival to the island, and ending after the last competition day on July 30.
𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲
Registering for Vertical Blue is usually not possible for everyone who wants to participate. The number of competitors is often limited to around 42. First, organizers send invitations to the top-ranked athletes in each discipline within the previous 12 months, and then to those who have previously competed at Vertical Blue. Then, if some spots are still free, general registration will open. The entry fee this year is 1,045USD.
𝗖𝗡𝗙 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗜𝗠
When the dates of Vertical Blue were announced to the broader audience, 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗭𝗲𝗰𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗶 (𝗜𝗧𝗔) and 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗮š𝗲𝘃𝗶ć (𝗛𝗥𝗩) were the only current world record holders who didn't confirm their participation in the competition. But we were initially excited to see the world's deepest men on the list: 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘃 (𝗜𝗡𝗧), 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗞𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗿 (𝗛𝗥𝗩), and 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 (𝗡𝗭𝗟). With these freedivers on the diving line, we anticipated exceptionally intense competition in the no-fins discipline and possibly a fight for a new world record in CNF. It's high time for the world's best performance in CNF of 102m (335ft), reached by William Trubridge in 2016, to be updated.
However, sometime later, William Trubridge disappeared from the list of participants. Additionally, two weeks before the competition start date, another incident occurred. Two Croatian athletes - 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗞𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗿 and 𝗩𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶č𝗶ć - were searched upon arrival to Long Island by a member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force accompanied by William Trubridge. During the luggage search, performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) forbidden by WADA were allegedly found in the bags of athletes. On this basis, the athletes were banned from this year’s Vertical Blue 2023 and future Vertical Blue competitions according to Vertical Blue’s official Instagram account.
𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗞𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗿 and 𝗩𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶č𝗶ć are currently part of the Anti-Doping Administration & Management System (ADAMS), a centralized platform managed by WADA that facilitates paperless doping control. Presently, there haven’t been any previously reported violations of the anti-doping policy by these athletes. CMAS has confirmed via Facebook that they are following up on the information given to them by Vertical Blue’s organizers, but there has not yet been official word from AIDA or WADA.
So, with two competitors eliminated, Alexey Molchanov is now unchallenged and is the most probable winner in CNF and FIM. His official personal bests (PBs) in these disciplines are 96m (315ft) and 126m (413ft), respectively. The question is if he will attempt to gain back the absolute world records in these disciplines, which now belong to William Trubridge (AIDA - CNF 102m / 335ft) and Petar Klovar (CMAS - FIM 132m / 433ft).
In FIM and CNF disciplines, Alexey's nearest competitor is now 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗵𝗶𝗮𝗳 (𝗧𝗨𝗡), whose official PBs are 116m (381ft) and 78m (256ft), respectively.
Among the women, the absolute world record in FIM (101m / 331ft) belongs to Alessia Zecchini (ITA), and in CNF (75m / 246ft) to 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗮š𝗲𝘃𝗶ć (𝗛𝗥𝗩). Both athletes are absent from the event. Therefore, we don't doubt that 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮 𝗞𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗸 (𝗛𝗨𝗡), who dived 100m (328ft) at Vertical Blue 2022, will once again attempt to set a new world record in FIM. Fatima is followed by 𝗘𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗼 (𝗨𝗦𝗔) and Ş𝗮𝗵𝗶𝗸𝗮 𝗘𝗿𝗰ü𝗺𝗲𝗻 (𝗧𝗨𝗥), whose official PBs are 91m (299ft) and 90m (295ft), respectively.
In CNF, the main leader is 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗻𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗸𝗮 (𝗨𝗞𝗥). Her official PB is 70m (230ft), which she reached at the CMAS 6th Freediving Outdoor World Championship 2022. It was there that Kateryna won a gold medal and became the World Champion. And similar to that Championship, Kateryna is followed by 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗸𝗲 (𝗔𝗨𝗦) as a competitor. Amber's official PB is 68m (223ft), and at the Championship, she dived 65m (213ft) and won a silver medal. It'll be very interesting to see how deep these women will manage to go in the perfect conditions of Dean's Blue Hole. Is a new world record coming?
𝗖𝗪𝗧 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗪𝗧𝗕
𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘃 recently set a new world record in CWT diving 133m (436ft) with a monofin in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. Alexey has held the world record in CWT for 11 years, and so far, we don’t see another athlete capable of challenging him in this discipline. 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗿𝗮 (𝗜𝗧𝗔) and 𝗔𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗱 𝗝𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗱 (𝗙𝗥𝗔) will probably compete for the silver and bronze medals.
In CWTB, Alexey has also set a new world record this year with a dive to 121m (397ft) with bifins. But in this discipline, he can absolutely be challenged by Arnaud. Arnaud is focused on CWTB and is just 1m (3ft) behind Alexey with a previous world record of 120m (394ft). Will the athletes switch places once again?
Among women, the winners in CWT and CWTB also seem to be easily established. The absolute world records now belong to 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗭𝗲𝗰𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗶: CWT - 123m (404ft) and CWTB - 109m (358ft). The athlete set both earlier this year in the Philippines, stealing the leading position from former World Record Holder 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗸𝗮 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗶𝗸 (𝗦𝗩𝗡). Alenka's official PBs and previous world records in these disciplines are 122m (400ft) and 106m (348ft), respectively. Most likely, Alenka won't miss her chance to get back on top. In both disciplines, Alenka is followed by experienced athletes 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗼 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲 (𝗝𝗣𝗡) and 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗼 (𝗙𝗥𝗔), who will compete for silver and bronze medals.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁?
It's a rare case when potentially both men and women are capable of establishing all world records in all the four disciplines, which means we can expect an exciting rivalry.
We’ll follow the events of each day of Vertical Blue closely and tell you about the most anticipated performances. We'll also post official links to the online broadcasts so you can find them easily. If you don't have time to watch the broadcast - don't worry! We'll watch for you and write detailed reports on all the notable performances.
𝗢𝗻 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟴-𝟯𝟬, 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱-𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁.
Let's start the countdown to day X!
