#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. At the Putorana Depth 2023 freediving festival on Lama lake, a new Russian record was set last weekend – diving to 100 meters above the Arctic Circle in the CWT (Constant Weight) freediving discipline.
The record belongs to Alexey Molchanov, 34-time freediving world champion, Guinness record holder for ice diving in lake Baikal and president of the freediving federation.
“Lake Lama on the Putorana plateau in Norilsk became the northernmost point in Russia, where freediving competitions were held. When I flew to the plateau, I assumed that the dive would be less comfortable. However, everything went at the highest level”, said Alexey Molchanov.
For several years now, the Russian freediving federation has been implementing a project to hold competitions in new territories not previously explored by divers. At the same time, the principle “the further and more difficult – the better” is practiced. One of such unexplored and hitherto unconquered places is lake Lama on the Putorana plateau. Similar swims have already taken place in the White sea, Baikal lake and other places.
The strongest world-class freedivers have come to Lama. Together with record holder Alexey Molchanov, divers participated in the festival, each of whom has his own original achievements in this sport. The first serious experience in freediving these days was also obtained by four Norilsk citizens – Maxim Mironov, Ekaterina Ivanova, Fedor Truhin and Vyacheslav Ognev.
According to the participants, one of the best combined teams of the international level gathered at the festival in Putorany. The coherence and level of organization of the competitions made it possible to hold the three days of the festival professionally, primarily in terms of safety – one of the main components of such events.
“This is my first participation in official competitions. I was able to take the small milestone I had set, although not without effort either. This suggests that we in Norilsk need to prepare more, more regularly and more carefully if we really want to achieve any results”, said Maxim Mironov, a member of the Norilsk freediving team, the Norilsk Development Agency (NDA)director.
After awarding the best divers among men and women in different disciplines, the Putorana Depths – 2023 participants decided to leave their medals to the hospitable Neralah Village camp site as the first and indisputable achievement of its inhabitants on the first official sports dive in Putorany.
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Text: Denis Kozhevnikov, Photo: author
