Diver William Trubridge reached a record depth of 107 metres despite an initial hiccup. Photo / Richard Robinson
New Zealander William Trubridge has broken a second world record at the freediving Vertical Blue competition in the Bahamas.
Trubridge, who is from Hawke's Bay but lives in the Bahamas, set a new world record in free immersion diving when he sank to 107 metres on the eighth
day of the 11-day competition today (NZT).
But the attempt didn't run according to plan, Trubridge told NZPA today.
The tag divers need to bring back from the depth to validate their attempt was caught on the descent line at about 102m.
Trubridge's lanyard carabiner running on the descent line jammed with the tag.
"I felt it jolt as I was sinking down, which ripped my lanyard off. Then obviously there wasn't a tag at the bottom," he said.
"That was a bit of a hiccup - it was a little bit confusing, but at the end of the day, it was still a good dive."
Without the tag as verification, Trubridge said his dive was validated by the depth gauge he wears on his wrist, and a camera at the bottom which showed him arriving at the plate.
After a day off tomorrow, he plans an attempt on the unassisted freediving world record, then a second crack at bettering today's record-breaking free immersion effort.
Earlier in the competition, he snatched back his world record in the constant weight (no fins) category, taking 3min 20sec to sink to 84m then ascend to the surface.
The record was held by 37-year-old Austrian Herbert Nitsch, who broke Trubridge's previous record last October when he reached 83m in Dahab, Egypt.
Trubridge, 28, estimated his record-breaking effort took him about 1min 35sec on the way down and 1min 45sec on the way up.
- NZPA
