The AIDA World Freediving Championship (AIDA World Championship) is the premier event in the freediving world, drawing the most elite athletes from every nation. Held twice a year, it is divided into pool and depth disciplines. This year's AIDA 30th Pool World Championship took place from June 10–17 in Jeju City, South Korea — marking the first time AIDA has held a World Championship in Asia. Taiwan sent 12 athletes to compete, making it the fourth-largest delegation at this year's championship. The top three were China with 23 athletes, South Korea with 22, and Japan with 18.
Six New Taiwanese Records — Taiwan's Athletes Become the Talk of the Competition
At this year's AIDA Pool World Championship, Taiwan's team delivered a remarkable performance, earning a total of 43 white cards, including five Taiwanese record-breaking swims. The team also claimed a bronze medal in one discipline and finished third overall in total points.
Summary of Taiwan team results
On the opening competition day (6/12), the dynamic with bi-fins (DYNB) event saw many athletes post impressive distances of 200 m or more. Taiwan's Liu Yu-Fang made history by swimming 208 m to break the Taiwanese record, becoming the first Taiwanese woman to successfully complete a 200 m dynamic swim. Athlete Lee Po-Yan also earned a thunderous reception from the crowd with his own record-breaking performance of 250 m. Race commentator Catherine Crossland even told us after the event that Lee Po-Yan is her favourite athlete, and that every one of his performances is something to look forward to.
Athlete Lee Po-Yan earned a thunderous reception from the crowd with his record-breaking performance of 250 m.
In the dynamic without fins (DNF) event (6/13), the Taiwan team once again impressed. The best male result came from Lee Po-Yan with 164 m, while Chang Yi-Hsien and Tao Cheng-Hsi posted strong performances of 153 m and 156 m respectively. On the women's side, Lin Hsin-Ju led the team with 135 m — a result all the more remarkable given that DNF was not her primary focus. She came within just 1 m of the existing Taiwanese record of 136 m set by Hsieh Hsin-Ying, leaving everyone in awe of Taiwan's athletes.
Athlete Lin Hsin-Ju posted the team's best result of 135 m.
In the static apnea (STA) event (6/15), Taiwan's Lin Hsin-Ju was first to take the water and delivered a superb performance of 6 minutes 27 seconds, breaking the Taiwanese women's STA record by a remarkable 23 seconds. While no male athlete broke a Taiwanese record, Hsiao Chih-Jung, Chan Kai-Hsiang, and Hsu Yueh-Hsiang all performed excellently, each holding their breath for over 7 minutes.
Athlete Hsiao Chih-Jung delivered an excellent performance, holding his breath for over 7 minutes.
In the final event, dynamic with fins (DYN) (6/16), Hsu Yueh-Hsiang wasted no time in breaking his own Taiwanese record early in the session, swimming 264 m to surpass the previous mark of 259 m. Not to be outdone, Lee Po-Yan once again chose to compete with bi-fins and once again reached 250 m, proving to the entire arena just how strong Taiwan's freedivers are.
Athlete Hsu Yueh-Hsiang
Athlete Lee Po-Yan
On the women's side, Liu Yu-Fang was first to reset the Taiwanese record with a 200 m swim, only to be followed shortly after by Chen Yu-Jung, who surpassed it with a white-card performance of 209 m, making her the second Taiwanese woman to complete a 200 m dynamic swim.
Athlete Liu Yu-Fang
Athlete Chen Yu-Jung
Fierce Asian Competition — Hsu Yueh-Hsiang Takes Bronze, Lee Po-Yan Claims Third in Overall Points
This championship featured a large and highly competitive field of Asian athletes. Japan's Mai Morimura broke three Asian women's records in a row, while China's Jin Ming and Zhang Yi claimed gold medals and Asian records in DYN and DYNB respectively, demonstrating that Asia's freediving scene is a force to be reckoned with. Hosting the World Championship in Asia clearly gave athletes from across the region greater opportunities to shine on the world stage.
Beyond their impressive results, the calibre and maturity of Taiwan's athletes came as a genuine surprise to competitors from other countries, and many expressed a strong desire to visit Taiwan to train and exchange ideas with Taiwanese freedivers. People were particularly astonished to learn that pool competitions in Taiwan already draw as many as 160 participants.
Athletes exchange tips and ideas poolside.
Bronze medallist Hsu Yueh-Hsiang said: "I feel like I broke through my training performance and pushed past where I was before. The earlier events didn't meet my own standards, but I'm still really happy with how things turned out in the end." Overall points third-place finisher Lee Po-Yan commented: "I'm really happy — and honestly surprised — to have achieved this result. I'll keep working hard, and I hope one day I can break the Asian record again." Lee Po-Yan also touched on the scarcity of pool training facilities in Taipei: "The freediving training environment in Taiwan is really limited. When you need intensive pool training in Taipei most, there just aren't suitable venues. I hope pool access in Taiwan becomes more affordable and available in the future."
Bronze medallist Hsu Yueh-Hsiang
Final standings:
Men's Division
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Lee Po-Yan — 406.6 points — 3rd overall
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Hsu Yueh-Hsiang — 394.1 points — 5th overall
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Chang Yi-Hsien — 377.9 points — 9th overall
Women's Division
- Liu Yu-Fang — 322 points — 7th overall
Sources:
Further Reading:
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