On September 3rd-15th, the AIDA 2024 Depth World Championship kicked off in Ajaccio, the largest city on the French island of Corsica.
The first competitive day was held in the CNF discipline for women. CNF is considered the most challenging and energy-intensive discipline. Given that the women’s official training day was canceled due to bad weather, watching the performances was especially tense.
1st place – Maria Bobela Clovar, Poland (66 meters)
2nd place – Lauren Matevish, USA (63 meters)
3rd place – Marin Simonis, Belgium (61 meters) and Marianna Gillespie, AIN (61 meters)
On the second day, men competed in the CNF discipline. The weather had improved, but the water temperature was still lower than expected.
1st place – Petar Klovar, Croatia (93 meters)
2nd place – Vitomir Maričić, Croatia (82 meters)
3rd place – Abdelatif Alouach, France (72 meters)
September 8th the women competed in the bifins discipline. Marianna Gillespie declared a depth of 96 meters and successfully achieved it, securing the gold medal.
1st place – Marianna Gillespie, AIN (96 meters)
2nd place – Anshante Gallardo, USA (91 meters), pending continental record
3rd place – Thalia Davidoff, South Africa (84 meters), pending continental record
On the fourth day, men competed in the CWTB. After the previous day’s postponement due to weather, conditions had improved: it was sunny with light, long waves and no currents, to the delight of both athletes and organizers. Unfortunately, a pronounced thermocline arose – at 15 meters deep, the water temperature dropped by 10 degrees, an unfamiliar condition for many athletes used to warmer environments or those wearing wetsuits too thin for such temperatures.
Alexey Molchanov set another world record for depth diving in bifins, reaching 125 meters in 4 minutes and 32 seconds.
September 11th the women competed in the FIM discipline.
🥇 Anshante Gallardo from the USA dove to 94 meters, setting a continental record – gold, congratulations!
🥈 Russian Marianna Gillespie (81 meters) secured the silver medal with a successful dive. Congratulations!
🥉 Third place went to Turkish diver Şahika Ercümen with a dive of 77 meters. Well done!
September 14th men and women competed in the CWT discipline simultaneously on three start lines. Due to the delays, the organizers had to host both men’s and women’s CWT events in a single day. The organizers handled over 70 starts that day – it’s easy to imagine the level of exhaustion they faced. Their resilience and responsibility were remarkable!
🥇 Alexey Molchanov confidently took the gold medal with a result of 131 meters.
🥈 Silver went to Andrey Matveenko with a result of 120 meters. His expertise and years of training in cold conditions clearly paid off. Congratulations!
🥉 In third place was Frenchman Eddie Laffan with a dive of 108 meters.
🥇 Among the women, Marianna Gillespie claimed first place again with an impressive 100-meter dive. Congratulations!
🥈 Second place went to Spanish athlete Laia Sopeña Spa with a result of 98 meters, a national record.
🥉 Anshante Gallardo from the USA took third with a 93-meter dive.
Congratulations to all the participants and organizers on a long and successful competition day!
On September 15th, the men's FIM events were held despite the water remaining cold after the storms.
🥇 Petar Klovar from Croatia took gold in this discipline, reaching 127 meters out of the declared 128. He missed the final meter but chose not to descend further. Upon surfacing, he made it clear that he was freezing. Impressive performance, congratulations!
🥈 Silver went to Frenchman Abdelatif Alouach with a result of 111 meters. Abdel, who also organized the Championship, showed incredible dedication. Congratulations!
🥉 Third place went to Croatian Vitomir Maričić with a 109-meter dive. Flawless protocol, well done!
Unexpectedly, during what is typically the Mediterranean’s “velvet season,” the weather turned. Several days of storms led to postponed starts, followed by a sharp thermocline, starting at 10 meters deep, with a sudden drop to 15°C. Many athletes, expecting different conditions and wearing thin wetsuits, felt cold even during their warm-up. Morning air temperatures were around 15°C instead of 25°C, and the water surface was about 20°C instead of the expected 25°C.
Despite the challenges, the Championship was successfully completed according to the full program. Over the 7 days of competition, the following records were set:
1 world record (Alexey Molchanov in CWTB!)
Alexey Molchanov set a new World Record in the Constant Weight Bi-Fins (CWTB) with a dive to 125 meters, breaking his own previous record.
4 continental records
Enchante Gallardo (USA, Hawaii) set a Continental Record for North America with a dive of 91 meters in Constant Weight Bi-Fins (CWTb) and a Continental Record for North America with a dive of 94 meters in Free-Immersion (FIM)
Talya Davidoff from South Africa set a Continental Record for Africa with a 84-meter dive in Constant Weight Bi-Fins (CWTb) and a Continental Record for Africa with a 60-meter dive in Constant Weight No-Fins discipline (CNF).
Men's Overall Winners:
🥇Petar Klovar (Croatia) Petar Klovar, dy impressed by claiming gold in the FIM discipline with a remarkable 127-meter dive, gold in no-fins discipline (CNF) and a bronze medal in dynamic bi-fins (CWTb), has taken home the Men's Overall Champion title.
🥈Jihoon Jang (Korea) South Korea’s Jihoon Jang takes the silver in the overall category, earning his place with steady and powerful dives across all events. Known for his resilience and skill in Constant Weight disciplines, Jang has been a standout performer throughout the competition.
🥉Vitomir Maričić (Croatia) Vitomir Maričić of Croatia, who claimed bronze in today’s FIM event, rounds out the podium placed third in Men’s Overall.
Women's Overall Winners:
🥇Marianna Gillespie (Individual international athlete) Marianna Gillespie earns the title of Women’s Overall Champion for an impressive third consecutive time. Gillespie has been a dominant force in the freediving world, and her performances in this championship were no exception. Her highlights include a stunning dive to 100 meters in challenging conditions in the CWT discipline, alongside podium placements in three other disciplines, confirming her position as one of the most accomplished freedivers.
🥈Talya Davidoff (South Africa) South Africa’s Talya Davidoff takes the 2nd place in the Overall category. Davidoff impressed throughout the competition, setting two Continental Records for Africa.
🥉Enchante Gallardo (USA) Enchante Gallardo of the United States claims the third place. Known for her strong performances throughout the event, Gallardo’s overall abilities were on full display during this championship.
In the overall standings, Marianna Gillespie (AIN) and Petar Klovar (Croatia) emerged as the champions and were awarded the prestigious Natalia Molchanova Memorial Award. Congratulations!
This World Championship was very important for us, as for the company. For the first time, it was a significant number of athletes that used Squid Neck Weight during their performances. A number of National and Continental Records were set for the first time with Squid during the most depth competition and this is the result we were working on while designing and inventing our device. “Squid is a game changer”, - where noted by the top athletes, due to its comfort, adjustance and preciseness. There was no such a gear before that could be used as a unique device for all the disciplines and water conditions, now it is.
Thanks to all the athletes and AIDA for the organization and invitation. We did the research and tested the first prototypes of Squid during World Championships for the last 3 years, now we finally have a record holder deep device.
Dive deep like no other with Squid.
PETER KLOVAR AND MARIA BOBELA KLOVAR
TALIA DAVIDOFF:
Finally kicking up my 90’s in competition! Really stoked with the outcome. Shocked that my dive was 40 seconds longer than normal, hence the fight at the surface.
