Pasanen and Kulkula set new Finnish records at freediving world championship in Corsica

Tommi Pasanen and Janita Kulkula have set new Finnish records at the depth disciplines of the freediving world championship in Corsica. Freediving involves diving without breathing apparatus in four different categories. Kulkula achieved a new record on Friday, diving to a depth of 46 meters without fins, surpassing the previous record of 42 meters held by Lenica Reggie. Meanwhile, Pasanen dove with fins today, reaching a depth of 90 meters, breaking his own previous record of 85 meters.

Kulkula, hailing from Lahti, finished tenth in her category, while Pasanen from Muurame placed sixth. “I can only be happy,” Pasanen expressed joyfully regarding his record. His dive lasted two minutes and 51 seconds. “I was a bit nervous at the start, as the water was colder than I expected, but it turned out to be a perfect performance,” he reflected.

Pasanen described his record dive as typical for him. First, he needed to overcome the buoyancy of the water; he kicks with fins through the depths of 30 to 40 meters. After that, he relaxes completely and lets himself sink. A tag is then retrieved at the pre-determined target depth to verify the accomplishment.

The challenging part of the dive begins when it’s time to return to the surface with compressed lungs. Safety divers are present at around 40 meters. “You have to maintain an inner smile and not let external factors distract you, which helps in approaching the surface comfortably,” Pasanen noted.

Even after achieving the record at 90 meters, he could not celebrate yet. Upon surfacing, there are just 15 seconds to remove his goggles, nose clip, and mask in the correct order and declare he is okay; otherwise, the attempt would be invalidated. Pasanen plans to continue pursuing records; “I need to go deeper,” he remarked about his goals.