Taiwan freediver breaks 2 continental records at Japan world championship

Taipei, July 3 (CNA) Taiwanese freediver Chan Kai-hsiang (詹凱翔) won three gold medals and broke two Asian records at an international championship in Japan on Wednesday.

Chan claimed gold in the Dynamic With Fins (DYN) and Dynamic Without Fins (DNF) events at the 34th AIDA Freediving Pool World Championship in Wakayama, swimming 300 meters with fins and 240 meters without, both in a single breath. His 300-meter swim also set a new Taiwanese national record.

He also won silver in the Dynamic With Bifins (DYNB) event, covering 270 meters in one breath, and set another national record in the Static Apnea (STA) by holding his breath for 8 minutes and 41 seconds - his second domestic record of the meet.

With a combined score of 509.2 points across four disciplines, Chan was crowned the overall men's champion, securing his third gold medal at the AIDA (International Association for the Development of Apnea) competition.

Chan's most notable achievement was breaking the continental records with his swims in the DNF and DYNB events, setting new distance benchmarks for Asia.

Fellow Taiwanese freediver Lee Po-yen (李柏彥) briefly held the Asian DNF record with a 202-meter swim at the same championship before Chan surpassed it. Despite this, Lee's overall score of 450.6 points earned him third place and a third bronze medal at the competition.

His other two bronze medals came from the DNF event and the DYNB, the latter involving a 264-meter swim in one breath.

Together, Chan and Lee's successes helped Taiwan earn three gold, one silver and three bronze medals at the competition.

Both men also received AIDA's prestigious Natalia Molchanova Memorial Award, given to the championship's most accomplished freedivers.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Liu Yu-han (劉宇涵) and Lin Hsin-ju (林昕儒) set new national records. Lin broke the national DNF record with a 138-meter swim, surpassing the previous mark set by Hsieh Hsin-ying (謝新英).

Lin's record was soon overtaken by debutant Liu, who swam 153 meters and also set a new Taiwanese STA record by holding her breath for 6 minutes, 39 seconds.

Chen Yu-jung (陳昱蓉), who has held Taiwan's female DYN record since 2023, broke her own record by swimming 215 meters in one breath at the 2025 event.