Antigua’s Christal Clashing sets new National Record in Dominica

Female freediver Christal Clashing has made history by setting the first female Freediving National Record for Antigua and Barbuda in Dominica.  

She achieved this record during the Deep Dominica Freediving Competition by securing a Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) dive to a depth of 31 meters on Monday. Clashing also recorded her Personal Best in a dive time of 1 minute 31 seconds.  

On Sunday, she set an initial national record by achieving a CNF dive to a depth of 28 meters and then surpassed her own record during the next dive.  

Following her achievement on the first day of the competition, the Antiguan diver took to Facebook saying that she aims for more. She noted, “I did a dive I felt confident about, and that strategy worked! The CNF discipline is the most physically demanding of all 4 competitive freediving disciplines but it’s my most enjoyable.” 

“Today, I aim to push that a bit deeper. It’s only one dive per day and the competition only allows you to increase dive depth in 3m increments,” she further added and achieved her goal.  

This annual event held in Dominica showcased the skills of freedivers from across the region and is taking place from July 28 to August 4 this year.  

Antigua’s Christal Clashing who is known for her earlier achievements as a member of the ‘Team Antigua Island Girls’ has once again showcased her aquatic skills. She went to Dominica on July 12 to be part of the official practice sessions with the organisers for the final competition.  

Notably, her participation in the Deep Dominica Freediving Competition was made possible via public sponsorships including from the largest chandlery in the Caribbean, Budget Marine, which earlier backed her during the Pacific row.  

Clashing expressed her gratitude to all her supporters following the first two days of the competition and said, “Big shout out to everyone who has contributed to getting me here to Dominica for the Deep Dominica Freediving competition.” 

Her achievements are being recognised all over the social media with several users expressing their congratulations and best wishes to her for the upcoming competitions. “Cograts to you and your accomplishments Christal, keep pushing more amazing work,” wrote a user named Julia while another user said, “Congratulations babe!!! So inspiring! You are such a powerful woman! I have a good book for you!” 

Divers from across the world are presently participating in the Freediving Competition in Dominica with several of them being from United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States of America and Italy to name a few. This show’s the competition’s increasing presence among global swimmers.  

Also, Dominica offers warm water, no current and unlimited depth close to the shores which makes it an ideal destination to learn, train and improve the skills.  

This competition will conclude on August 4 with the final competition and closing ceremony during which the best divers will be awarded for their achievements during the weeklong diving contest in Dominica.  

The schedule of Deep Dominica Freediving Competition is as follows: 

• July 28: competition day. 
• July 29: competition day. 
• July 30: rest day. 
• July 31: competition day. 
• August 1: competition day. 
• August 2: rest day. 
• August 3: competition day. 
• August 4: competition day/closing ceremony.