William Trubridge (born 24 May 1980) is a New Zealand world champion and world record holding freediver. Trubridge was the first diver to go deeper than without oxygen and as of 2013 held the world record in the

free immersion Free immersion (FIM) is an AIDA International freediving discipline in which the freediver dives under water without the use of propulsion equipment, but only by pulling on the rope during descent and ascent. Performances may be done ''head first' ...

and

constant weight without fins Constant weight without fins (CNF) is an AIDA International (International Association for Development of Apnea) freediving discipline in which the freediver descends and ascends by swimming without the use of fins or without pulling on the rope ...

disciplines.

Life

Trubridge was born in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

in northern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but moved with his family to New Zealand when he was eighteen months old. As a diver, Trubridge mainly competes in depth disciplines. He has scored the highest number of points for an individual at the Team's World Championships, 313.3, which he achieved at the 2010 Freediving Team's World Championships held in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Japan. On 18 January 2011, Trubridge won the World's Absolute Freediver Award (WAFA), as the best all around freediver, with the highest combined score in six freediving disciplines: static apnea,

dynamic apnea Dynamic apnea is a discipline of competitive freediving, also known as competitive apnea. Dynamic apnea covers two of the eight competitive freediving categories recognised by the AIDA International (International Association for Development of A ...

with fins, dynamic apnea without fins (pool disciplines), constant weight apnea with fins, constant weight without fins, and free immersion (depth disciplines). Trubridge is an Apnea Academy instructor and operated a freediving school and annual competition, both called

Vertical Blue Vertical Blue is a freediving competition which has been held annually in The Bahamas at Dean's Blue Hole since April 2008 by freediving world record holder William Trubridge. It is an AIDA International or CMAS in 2021 judged competition and h ...

, at

Dean's Blue Hole __NOTOC__ Dean's Blue Hole is a blue hole located in The Bahamas in a bay west of Clarence Town on Long Island and is the world's second deepest, after the Dragon Hole in the South China Sea, with a depth of . Formation A blue hole is a wat ...

Long Island, Bahamas Long Island is an island in The Bahamas that is split by the Tropic of Cancer. It is one of the Districts of the Bahamas and is known as the most scenic island in the Bahamas. Its capital is Clarence Town. The population of Long Island is 3,094 in ...

from September to May. During the summer he teaches courses in Europe and has trained at the Tenerife Top Training Center. Trubridge was the main subject of a documentary entitled "Breathe" directed by Martin Khodabakhshian, which documents Trubridge's pursuits in 2010 to become the first free diver ever to reach 300 feet with a single breath in the discipline of constant weight no fins. On 15 February 2019 Trubridge became the first man to complete an 'underwater crossing' of one of the major channels, swimming across the

Cook Strait Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A ...

as a series of 934 breath hold dives. He wore fins and swam with a dolphin kick horizontally underwater at a depth between 3–5 meters, surfacing only for short recoveries during which he remained immobile. The crossing took 9 hours 15 minutes and was done to raise awareness of the plight of New Zealand's Hector's and Māui dolphins, which are both threatened with extinction due predominantly to over-fishing in their ranges. William Trubridge MNZM investiture

In the 2021 New Year Honours, Trubridge was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to free diving.

World records

* 81 m (265.74 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 9 April 2007 * 82 m (269.02 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 11 April 2007 * 84 m (275.59 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 4 April 2008 * 107 m (351.04 ft)

Free Immersion Free immersion (FIM) is an AIDA International freediving discipline in which the freediver dives under water without the use of propulsion equipment, but only by pulling on the rope during descent and ascent. Performances may be done ''head first' ...

, 8 April 2008 * 86 m (282.15 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 10 April 2008 * 108 m (354.33 ft) Free Immersion, 11 April 2008 * 88 m (288.71 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 10 April 2009 * 90 m (295.27 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 3 December 2009 * 92 m (301.83 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 19 April 2010 * 116 m (380.57 ft) Free Immersion, 22 April 2010 * 95 m (311.67 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 26 April 2010 * 96 m (314.96 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 10 December 2010 * 100 m (328.08 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 14 December 2010 * 101 m (331.36 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 16 December 2010 * 121 m (396.98 ft) Free Immersion, 10 April 2011 * 122 m (~400 ft) Free Immersion, 30 April 2016 * 124 m (~407 ft) Free Immersion, 2 May 2016 * 102 m (334.65 ft) Constant Weight without fins, 21 July 2016Fairfax New Zealand Limite
Kiwi freediver William Trubridge sets world record
''stuff.co.nz''. 21 July 2016

Personal bests

References

External links

official website of William Trubridge

Vertical Blue Freediving homepage

Current Freediving World Records

Deeperblue.net Free-diving forum

Apnea Academy - A global teaching organisation for underwater apnea - presided over by Umberto Pelizzari

Freediving New Zealand website

Short documentary about William Trubridge
by

Nicolas Rossier Nicolas Rossier is an American filmmaker and reporter best known for his biographical documentaries of the former president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide and South African Nobel Peace Prize co-recipient (together with Nelson Mandela) F.W. ...

William Trubridge freediving and zen journey

DiveWise.Org
- non-profit organization dedicated to freediver education, science and safety {{DEFAULTSORT:Trubridge, William 1980 births Living people New Zealand freedivers English emigrants to New Zealand Sportspeople from Northumberland Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit