On Wednesday, the Dominica Dive Fest – the longest running scuba dive and watersports festival in the Caribbean – was witness to Columbian freediver Sofia Gomez Uribe setting a new CMAS world record of 83.1m in the Bi-Fins Constant Weight category.
The record-breaking dive, which topped the previous record (held by Slovenian Alenka Artnik) by over one metre, was completed in two minutes 43 seconds, and Sofía Gómez Uribe was over the moon, especially as this makes her the first Colombian to hold a freediving world record.
She said: “I am really happy that I made the dive, I was kind of nervous this morning but I used everything that [my coach] Johnny told me to use, to focus that energy on the dive and keep me present, happy and strong. I’m really, really happy!”
Jonathan Sunnex, her partner and coach, said: “We would like to thank The Blue Element safety, medical and media team, Fundacion Sofia Perez de Soto, BBVA, Suunto, Alchemy, and Oceaner, and also Buddy Dive Dominica and their fantastic crew for providing boating logistics, and the Dominica Watersports Association for organizing the annual Dominica Divefest and providing their support. We would also like to thank all of the local people of Soufriere/Scott’s Head and Dominica who have gotten behind us and welcomed us into their beautiful country.”
