It is the French freediver Thibault Guignès who tells us from the inside how the Vertical Blue events unfolded, which concludes this weekend on Long Island in the Bahamas.A brief summary of the first two acts of this Vertical Blue 2018. A lineup featuring the world’s best freedivers, a top battle between William Trubridge and Alexey Molchanov – so far won by the latter in all three disciplines – and exceptional performances (3 world records and 5 female divers over 100 meters, and a men’s cwt world record at 130 meters). A very strong Italian team, impressive Japanese divers, and amidst all this, the French Mafia charting its course.
This year, for the tenth edition of the Vertical Blue, France was represented by five freedivers: Alice Modolo, Rémy Dubern, Denis Grosmaire, Thibault Guignès et Stéphane Tourreau. We share a house together and are truly a team in this competition, coaching and advising each other mutually.
Here are the latest updates from the competition, which officially ends today, on the 9th day.
Denis, in his first major competition, is still searching for his limits. After preparation in cold metropolitan water, our Tahitian finds joy in the warm water reminiscent of home and has overcome his equalization problem. He strings together personal bests and validated a stunning 87 meters in free immersion on his fourth dive. Still roomy on hypoxia and equalization, one could expect a new personal record from him in the following days, and he did not miss his appointment with 93 meters FIM announced and achieved on the 8th th day of the competition, a remarkable performance!
Rémy, balancing his remote work, coaching Alice, and his own training, struggled a bit more to enter the competition. A slight overconfidence despite the lack of training volume hasn’t yet allowed him to validate performances in no fins. He is now mainly aiming to have fun by surpassing his personal best in constant weight with bi-fins and likely an easier no-fins dive than before in the coming days. He achieved 85 meters in constant weight (CWT) on the 8th th day of the competition.
Stéphane is in training mode for preparing his season during this Vertical Blue. Upon arrival in the Bahamas, he had to accept not being as physically ready as desired. He thus prioritizes enjoyment with easy dives in no warm up. We can expect him to consolidate his previous dives in his next two dives. Following an intense period of general physical preparation, Stéphane plans to train for two full months in Dominica in the autumn. He achieved 101 meters in constant weight (CWT) on the 7th th day of the competition.
Thanks to her work with her coach Rémy and mental coach Alain, Alice delighted us with a beautiful rise in power during this Vertical Blue, culminating in two French records. First, 84 meters then 86 meters in constant weight, a 5-meter improvement over her previous record set 5 years ago. What an achievement after 5 years of pausing her practice to focus on her professional life! She announced 88 meters for the 9 personal bests établi il y a 5 ans. Quel accomplissement après 5 années d’interruption de sa pratique pour se consacrer à sa vie professionnelle ! Elle a annoncé 88 mètres pour le 9th th day of competition… Stay tuned!!!
Thibault, on the advice of the French Mafia, chose to start the competition with a dive already mastered, which was beneficial as stress management was a bit tougher than expected in the first two dives. After an early turn on his second dive, Thibault, strengthened by the confidence accumulated during the training sessions preceding the competition, managed to achieve two consecutive new French records in free immersion at 110 and 112 meters. His two impeccable exits gave him the confidence needed to announce a new personal bests at 114 meters, which a early turn unfortunately prevented him from achieving.
It should be noted that France is also represented in the Safety team at Vertical Blue with Lily Crespy whose smile boosts us as much before as after our dives.
Thibault Guignès