August 21, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jessica Wilson Takes Bronze Medal in AIDA Freediving World Championships.

Aarhus, Denmark.  The United States Apnea Association (USAA) is pleased to announce that Jessica Wilson has placed third taking a bronze medal in the 2009 AIDA Indoor Individual Freediving World Championships with a performance of six minutes and twenty-seven seconds in the Static Apnea event.  The Danish Sport Diving Federation is hosting this year’s World Championships.  Jessica was competing with seven other female athletes in the A Final.  She earned her spot in the final the day before with a performance of six minutes and seventeen seconds in the selection heats. 

Annabel Edwards, Jessica’s mother, was competing in the A final as well and placed fourth with a performance of six minutes and seventeen seconds.  This is the first time that a mother daughter pair has placed sequentially in a world championship.  The final was marked by the gold medal performance of Natalia Molchanova with a new world record of eight minutes and twenty-three seconds, breaking her own record set at the last AIDA Indoor Individual Freediving World Championships that took place in Slovenia in 2007.  The silver medal performance by Kathryn McPhee was six minutes and fifty-eight seconds.

Jessica said, “I am so excited to have been able to repeat a bronze medal for static apnea at the World Championship in Denmark.  There were some very strong women here to compete with, and I went into the competition thinking that 4th place would be OK.  Third place is definitely better!”

Annabel stated, “This has been incredible! It feels really wonderful that a mother and daughter can place 3rd and 4th in the world. How often does that happen? I'm still in shock! Thank you to Grant and Junko for being our coaches and to our dive buddies in Kona for training with us all year!"

Static apnea tests the athlete’s ability to hold their breath for time.  The athlete lays face down in the shallow end of a pool with a coach providing for safety signaling and timing.  Upon surfacing at the conclusion of their performance the athlete must perform a surface protocol by removing their facial equipment, signaling okay and saying, I am okay, to demonstrate he or she is in control of his or her performance.  Other disciplines include tests in depth and distance.

The USAA is a nonprofit association founded on the democratic representation of freediving within the United States and internationally.  Founded in 2003, the USAA consists of an active membership dedicated to furthering freediving in the United States and abroad. For more information about the USAA, the U.S. National Freediving Team, and membership please visit www.usfreediving.org.

The International Association for the Development of Freediving, AIDA, is the international sanctioning body for freediving, individual and team competition, and freediving world record attempts.  For more information about AIDA please visit http://www.aida-international.org.

-END-

Contact Information:

Grant W. Graves, President
United States Apnea Association, USAA

3642 Seahorn Dr.
Malibu, CA 90265
Email: makog@aol.com
Phone: 310-560-6104

[ TOP ]