William Trubridge

Freediver

"The appeal of freediving is how different it is to any other sport," he says. "The fact we’re completely immersed in liquid; a single breath, the weightlessness, the absence of sounds, the dullness of the colours... everything is subtracted. It’s a completely different experience to life in the air element. When I'm diving it feels like I'm being accepted into the ocean."

William Trubridge – Freediver

William Trubridge is a world-renowned freediver who has a natural affinity with the depths. In 2010 he became the first person to break the 100m barrier completely unassisted.

Story

Freediving is in Trubridge's blood. Born in Britain, the first few years of his life were a nomadic existance sailing around the world on his parents' yacht before the family settled in New Zealand. He learnt to swim at the age of 18 months, and was freediving to 15m by the age of eight, competing with his older brother to see who could bring back a stone from the deepest depth. But it was not until he was 22 that he discovered it was a sport. Since then, Trubridge has broken numerous freediving records.

Although considered the world's best 'no-fins' freediver, Trubridge is also a multiple record holder in 'Free Immersion', where divers descend pulling on a rope. Recently he's focused on 'Constant Weight', diving with a monofin.

In 2011 and 2012 he received the World's Absolute Freediving Award (WAFA), which ranked him as the world's top freediver. For much of the year he is based in the Bahamas, where he trains at Dean's Blue Hole. It is also the location of Suunto Vertical Blue, one of the largest freediving events in the world, which Trubridge organizes.

Records:
Constant Weight No Fins (CNF): 101m, Free Immersion (FIM): 121m

Check more at www.aidainternational.org/competitive/worlds-records