Only twenty days after setting the British Men’s Constant Weight, No Fins Free Diving record at 62 meters (204 ft) at The World Championships in Kalamata, Greece on 19th September, David Kent, 41, broke and reset his own record by comfortably diving an impressive 66 meters (217 ft) in 2.32 minutes in The Blue Hole, Dahab, Egypt, on 9th October.
To set the Constant Weight, No Fins Free Diving record, Kent was required to descend to a pre-announced depth and return to the surface on a single breath of air and present the bottom-tag to the judges to qualify; He did this without incident and looked clear and focused as he resurfaced, a good indication that there’s still deeper depths he can reach over time.
The discipline Kent specialises in (one of the three major competition disciplines) is often referred to as ‘unassisted free diving’, as the athlete swims to their depths and resurfaces without the aid of fins, sleds, airbag, or any other supplement – using only the combined power and discipline of the body and the mind.
41 year old Sussex Police Sergeant David Kent was given a mini career-break to train for and compete in the World Championships this year. He was coached by Brian Crossland of Blue Ocean Free Diving in Dahab, Egypt, leading up to the Worlds, then returned to train up for and carry out his record breaking attempt, organised and overseen by Crossland. He will no doubt be welcomed back to The Force with a huge round of well-deserved applause as the UK Men’s World Record holder.
Kent has now set his sights on competing in the 2013 World Championships to medal-winning standard.