The sixth day of the 35th AIDA Freediving World Championship in Limassol was marked by strategy and close competition in the men’s Free Immersion –FIM– discipline. Russian diver Alexey Molchanov secured gold with 129 meters, followed by Croatia’s Petar Klovar with 123. Omar Al Ghailani and Abdelatif Alouach shared a historic bronze after finishing with identical scores.

Several days of competition have already taken place, delivering new performances, national records and the debut of athletes from new countries, confirming the international scope of a championship that gathers many of the world’s leading freedivers.

Free Immersion consists of descending and ascending along a rope using only the arms, without fins or propulsion aids. The discipline requires refined technique, breath-hold capacity and complete mental control. It is often used in training to improve equalization and to master relaxed descents.

The current men’s world record in Free Immersion -FIM- is held by Petar Klovar, who reached 135 meters in September 2023 during the World Championship in Cyprus, on the same competition platform used this year.

Men’s Free Immersion Final Results

• Gold: Alexey Molchanov (AIN) – 129 m

• Silver: Petar Klovar (CRO) – 123 m

• Bronze: Omar Al Ghailani (OMA) – 110 m

• Bronze: Abdelatif Alouach (FRA) – 110 m

Molchanov reached the depth tag but decided not to grab it, losing one point without risking his gold medal. Klovar turned early, knowing that 123 meters would be enough to secure silver. Both divers applied tactical decisions that proved decisive. Al Ghailani and Alouach, with flawless surface protocols, shared the bronze medal with matching scores.

National Records on Day 6

The day also produced a long list of national bests:

• Loizos Pafitis (Cyprus) – 71 m

• Alexandros Polemitis (Cyprus) – 75 m

• Omar Al Ghailani (Oman) – 110 m

• Martin Ruman (Slovakia) – 107 m

• Jihoon Jang (South Korea) – 102 m

• Kim Dahlgren (Sweden) – 93 m

• Gonzalo Cortes Tavara (Peru) – 90 m

• Mohammed Abdulla (Qatar) – 85 m

The dynamic nature of the championship was evident in Cyprus, where even a national record was broken twice in a single day.

Previous Days at the Championship

The championship opened with the debut of athletes from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Iran and Lebanon, alongside numerous national bests in Constant Weight No Fins. On Day 3, the trend continued in the women’s Constant Weight with bifins, with medals going to athletes from Ukraine, the United States and Hungary, accompanied by new continental and national records.

Earlier days also featured a Constant Weight No Fins gold for Petar Klovar, achieved without approaching his own world record, and a Free Immersion title for Fanni Torocsik, confirming her as one of the standout figures of the championship.

AIDA offers live streams, replays and highlights of each competition day through its official YouTube channel, giving fans access to all dives taking place in Limassol.