Freediving: Two new national records spur Lim Anqi further
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Freediver Lim Anqi won the constant weight bi-fins discipline with her dive of 70m, breaking her previous record by 10m.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF LIM ANQI
DeeperDive is a beta AI feature. Refer to full articles for the facts.
SINGAPORE - Following freediver Lim Anqi's exertions at the World Championships and Caribbean Cup in August, where she set seven national records, she took a break to travel around Mexico before she was scheduled to return to Singapore.
But the lure of new challenge proved to hard to resist after she found out about a competition near where she was located.
Despite not being in top shape, the 37-year-old was the overall winner of the Azul Freediving Challenge in Bacalar, Mexico, last week, where she set Aida national records in the constant weight bi-fins and free immersion disciplines.
Confederation Mondiale des Activites Subaquatiques (CMAS) and Aida (International Association for Development of Apnea) International are the two main governing bodies for freediving and event records are marked separately.
Lim won the constant weight bi-fins discipline with her dive of 70m, breaking her previous record by 10m.
She also rewrote her national record of 60m in the free immersion discipline with a depth of 62m.
Surprised by the result, Lim said: "I didn't feel like I was in shape and it was difficult to have a good fitness routine, so I didn't expect myself to be in this shape and do something."
She had to adapt to competing in freshwater for the first time, and while she found the descent smoother and easier than in saltwater as it is less dense, ascending was "physically and mentally more challenging because I had to keep kicking all the way to the surface".
Earlier, she had set three CMAS national records at the 2019 World Freediving Championships, and three Aida International national marks at the Caribbean Cup, both held in the Honduras.
While Lim is returning home this week after being away for more than two months, she will only be staying for less than two weeks before travelling to Indonesia for the Sabang International Freediving Competition, her final competition of the year.
The two new national records are a boost to her as she gears up for the competition.
Lim said: "I feel more motivated because the target this year for constant weight bi-fins was 69m and I reached 70m so I'm very happy about that.
"To be able to see that target now just before I come home, I will have another chance in Indonesia to do something there and achieve something significant."
