Ukrainian dives height of Statue of Liberty and becomes freediving world champion
Photo: Kateryna Sadurska (facebook.com/aidafreediving)
Ukrainian freediver Kateryna Sadurska, holding a national record, won the World Championship organized by the International Association for the Development of Apnea (AIDA). She triumphed in constant weight diving with fins.
Triumph in Limassol
The 35th AIDA World Championship is taking place in Limassol, Cyprus. Fifty-two athletes competed for the gold in the bi-fins discipline, but none could match Sadurska.
The Ukrainian delivered the best performance, diving 97 meters to claim the gold medal. She surpassed American Enchante Gallardo by one meter and Hungarian Zsofia Torucik by five meters. Sadurska not only became the world champion but also set a new national record.
97 meters is even taller than the famous Statue of Liberty in New York, which measures 93 meters from the ground to the tip of the torch.
Champion for the third time this month
This is Sadurska’s second victory at the current World Championship. Two days ago, she won gold in the constant weight without fins discipline with a dive of 75 meters. With the results from both events, the Ukrainian leads the overall ranking with 172 points.
Overall, Kateryna has claimed the world champion title in freediving for the third time this month. In September, she won at two world championships — under the auspices of the World Underwater Federation (CMAS) and the International Association for the Development of Apnea (AIDA). Over the course of her career, she has now earned nine world champion titles across various disciplines and federations.
Sadurska has broken world records seven times (Photo: facebook.com/aidafreediving)
Who is Kateryna Sadurska
Kateryna is a 33-year-old native of Mykolaiv. She practiced artistic swimming, competing at the 2016 Olympic Games, becoming a two-time European champion, and earning multiple medals at world and continental championships.
In freediving, she has won nine world championship titles across different federations.
In 2022, she set the Ukrainian record in free immersion with a dive of 92 meters.
She is also a world record holder in constant weight without fins (84 m) and has broken world records in this discipline seven times in total.
Earlier, we reported that Yaroslava Mahuchikh was nominated for the Best European Female Athlete award for the second time.
It was also announced that a Ukrainian judo star chose to represent another country after boycotting the World Championship.
