By Sue Klein
One-hundred and thirty athletes represented 26 countries and went to Belgrade, Serbia June 21-27 for the World Championship of Indoor Freediving, and for the first time in history, the United States was present. In a sport practiced for centuries around the world in areas with access to the sea, Katie Kleinwachter from Warrenville, was the first American to participate at a CMAS (World Confederation of Underwater Activities) Indoor World Championship, where athletes battle it out in the pool. The sport consists of diving on breath-hold, and competing for time, or distance.
The U.S. presence was warmly welcomed in Belgrade and Katie’s main event was Static Freediving (the time that each athlete can spend underwater on one breath). Her time of 5:41 set the standing United States record.
She participated in the dynamic freediving with fins event (competing for distance covered underwater with fins, on one breath) where her personal record is 112 meters..
Katie is the national record holder in dynamic freediving without fins (DNF) with a distance of 82 meters.
Katie hopes that by sharing her story about her journey leading to this landmark moment in sports history, she can inspire others to follow their calling. She hopes to share how the mental stance required for elite-level performance is applicable to daily situations.
Katie’s page is available @only100yrs with “Road to the World Championship” content on the training and behind-the-scenes action.
The Federation’s page (the governing body) is @USFreediving.