All this took place over the last ten days at “Vertical Blue”, the world’s most prestigious freediving competition every year in the Bahamas. It was Arnaud’s first participation at the event, and he certainly made his mark! Known as the ‘Wimbledon of Freediving’, it attracts the world’s free-diving élite. 41 athletes competed from July 13th - 23rd, each diving up to 6 times in any discipline.
 

It was on Day 1 of the competition that Arnaud set the tone, descending to a depth of 116 meters which was already 4 meters deeper than his own previous world record. Four days on, he took 1 min, 38 seconds to reach one meter further into the depths to clinch the elusive 117 meters. The whole dive was captured by an underwater camera drone broadcasting a livestream online.

‘The second dive was more difficult than the 116m. I was very focused, and I am very happy with my technique. My freefall is perfect, and my finning technique is great. I felt more pressure today, however, because it’s the first time that I broke my own world record. On my 3 other world records, I was beating someone else’s mark.’
 

Arriving in the Bahamas on June 1st before his fellow athletes had enabled Arnaud to adapt to this unique setting. The Dean’s Blue Hole, a 202 meters deep natural hole away from currents and winds, is the ideal place for the discipline. Arnaud had carried out no less than 15 training dives in the Bahamas. His excellent physical and mental shape were crucial, safe in the knowledge that he had already reached similar depths during pre-competition training.

(Images © Richard Mille)