The Editor says: For those who love freediving, the AIDA Pacific Rim Cup needs no introduction — it is one of the largest and most prestigious freediving competitions in Taiwan. Every athlete pushes their personal limits and strives to better their scores each time, making it an incredibly tense and thrilling event to watch in person! Read on as the Editor walks you through this year's results!
Taiwan's largest and most iconic pool freediving competition, the 2023 AIDA Pacific Rim Cup, concluded today (11/12) at the Taichung City North District Sports Center. Co-organized by 女子的海 and the Taiwan Freediving Development Association, this event is the largest freediving competition in Taiwan and one of Asia's most significant meets. The organizers hope that hosting an international competition in Taiwan will foster exchange between domestic and overseas athletes, raise the profile of freediving across the country, and drive an overall improvement in the standard of the sport nationwide. Now in its fifth edition, the competition drew 220 athletes — once again breaking the national record for freediving event participation and cementing its status as the world's largest pool freediving competition. This milestone underscores the remarkable growth of freediving as both a sport and a way for people to connect with the water.
Four New Records Set at This Year's Pacific Rim Cup — Including a Historic Asian Record by Zhan Kai-Xiang
The highlight of the competition centered on the Dynamic without Fins (DNF) discipline. In the men's category, Zhan Kai-Xiang, and in the women's category, Xie Xin-Ying, both broke national records and claimed first place in their respective divisions. Zhan Kai-Xiang's distance of 190m not only surpassed the national record of 182m set by Huang Hua-Yang in 2022, but also broke the Asian record previously held by a Chinese athlete, making him the next Taiwanese athlete after Xu Yue-Xiang to hold an Asian record in a pool discipline. Xie Xin-Ying, meanwhile, bettered her own mark with a distance of 137m, narrowly surpassing her personal national record of 136m.
Athlete Zhan Kai-Xiang receives a white card upon surfacing, confirming a new Asian and Taiwan national record. photo credit：女子的海
Among international athletes, Malaysian competitor Lim Soon Fatt broke the Malaysian national record in the DNF discipline with a distance of 115m. In the Dynamic with Bi-Fins (DYNB) discipline, Hong Kong's Wong Chun-Wai broke the Hong Kong national record with a distance of 207m, though the top honours went to Taiwan's Li Bo-Yan and Ma Yi-Zhen, who claimed first place with distances of 215m and 184m respectively. In the Dynamic with Fins (DYN) discipline, Taiwan's seasoned competitor Huang Hua-Yang and South Korea's Suwon Kim took the top spots in their respective categories. Zhan Kai-Xiang again claimed the men's title in static apnea (STA), while the women's champion Liu Yu-Han narrowly missed the national record by just 6 seconds.
Based on the overall competition scores, Zhan Kai-Xiang dominated the men's division with an uncontested 297.3 points, while Ma Yi-Zhen claimed the women's division title with 236.9 points. The 2023 Annual Overall Championship went to Yang Ren-Hong and Lin Xin-Ru, two veteran competitors who are perennial fixtures on the competition circuit.
Athlete Zhan Kai-Xiang receives a white card upon surfacing, confirming a new Asian and Taiwan national record. photo credit：女子的海
photo credit：女子的海
AIDA (freediving agency) Safety Committee Convener Praises Taiwan: World-Class Standards and Quality
Over three days, the 220 athletes in this competition completed more than 520 dives in total. To uphold the fairness and rigor of the event, staff members were fully focused throughout. The seamless flow of proceedings and the professional safety planning drew praise from the invited chief judge and AIDA (freediving agency) Safety Committee Convener, Mr. Savvas Savva. He was amazed that Taiwan was able to carry out such a challenging competition so smoothly and professionally, stating: "Taiwan is absolutely capable of hosting the AIDA World Freediving Championship — in fact, I'd say a world championship might even be slightly easier to organize." He added: "Taiwan absolutely has what it takes to put on a world-class competition." In pursuit of even greater professionalism and fairness, the organizing team enforced competition venue regulations more strictly than ever, which unfortunately led to some athletes being disqualified for failing to observe the relevant rules — a regrettable outcome for all involved.
Overall, this competition once again set a high benchmark for the quality of freediving events held in Taiwan. Wu Bing-You, Secretary-General of the Taiwan Freediving Development Association, remarked: "Faced with a rapidly growing competitive environment in both the quality and quantity of athletes, we must be bold in our attempts, keep pushing, and overcome challenges. We hope to live up to the trust placed in us and continue to be a stage where athletes can give their all and enjoy every moment."
Results Table
| Discipline | Place | Men's Division | Women's Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| Static Apnea (STA) | 1 | Zhan Kai-Xiang (7) | Liu Yu-Han (6) |
| 2 | Xiao Zhi-Rong (6) | Lin Xin-Ru (6) | |
| 3 | Wang Jing-Yu (6) | Ma Yi-Zhen (6) | |
| Dynamic without Fins (DNF) | 1 | Zhan Kai-Xiang (190m) | Xie Xin-Ying (137m) |
| 2 | Li Bo-Yan (171m) | Liu Yu-Han (132m) | |
| 3 | Bai Bo-Han (161m) | Chen Yi-Jun (125m) | |
| Dynamic with Fins (DYN) | 1 | Huang Hua-Yang (249m) | Suwon Kim (178m) |
| 2 | Zhang Yi-Xian (230m) | 兼本光恵 (174m) | |
| 3 | Bai Bo-Han (200m) | Liu Yu-Han (167m) | |
| Dynamic with Bi-Fins (DYNB) | 1 | Li Bo-Yan (215m) | Ma Yi-Zhen (184m) |
| 2 | Zhan Kai-Xiang (209m) | Chen Yu-Rong (175m) | |
| 3 | Wong Chun-Wai (207m) | Dong Jia-㚬 (157m) | |
| Rookie Division (Newcomer Overall Score) | 1 | Huang Qiao-Jian (DYNB 150) | Yang Yu-Jun (DYNB 128) |
| 2 | Chen Guan-Ting (DYNB 128) | Wang Xin-Jie (DYNB 117) | |
| 3 | Zheng Zhi-Yue (DYNB 103) | Huang Xin-Hui (DYNB 116) | |
| Open Division (Newcomer Award) | 1 | Wong Chun-Wai (252.2) | 兼本光恵 (196.4) kanemoto mitsue |
| Team Division | 1 | TNT | 802.005 |
| 2 | 聖母馬戲團 | 777.473 | |
| 3 | Lalaland | 741.505 | |
| 2023 Annual Overall Champion | 1 | Yang Ren-Hong (746.3) | Lin Xin-Ru (815.1) |
| Competition Overall Champion | 1 | Zhan Kai-Xiang (297.3) | Ma Yi-Zhen (236.9) |
| National / Asian Records Broken | Zhan Kai-Xiang (Taiwan) Asian & National Record: DNF 190m | Xie Xin-Ying (Taiwan) National Record: DNF 137m | |
| Lim Soon Fatt (Malaysia) National Record: DNF 115m | |||
| Wong Chun-Wai (Hong Kong) National Record: DYNB 207m |
Competition Photo Gallery
photo credit：女子的海
photo credit：女子的海
Senior Specialist Hong Guo-Yao of the Ocean Affairs Council (center) presents the 2023 Annual Overall Championship awards to athletes Yang Ren-Hong and Lin Xin-Ru. photo credit：女子的海
Section Chief Liao Yi-Hong of the Taichung City Government Sports Bureau presents a record-breaking award to Zhan Kai-Xiang for setting a new Asian record. photo credit：女子的海
Liu Wen-Hong, Chairman of the ROC Underwater Sports Association, presents the team award to Taichung City's "Team Nantun." photo credit：女子的海
Section Chief Liao Yi-Hong of the Taichung City Government Sports Bureau presents BO consolation prizes to athletes whose attempts were unsuccessful. photo credit：女子的海
photo credit：女子的海
Organizers:
Further Reading:
