The UAE hosted its first official AIDA (International Association for Development of Apnea) sanctioned freediving competition with Hadeya Hassan Almenhali becoming the first ever female UAE freediving national record holder.

Almenhali held her breath for two minutes, 11 seconds in static apnea on Saturday, which brought challengers from across the region, as well as Finland, Russia and Jordan to the British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.

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“I knew I could hold my breath for longer than two minutes and I think this is a challenging national record,” Almenhali said. “This was a great experience being in an official competition and I was a bit nervous, but next time I am sure I will do even better.”

Other UAE nationals challenged the men’s freediving records in static and dynamic apnea.

Rashed Ailan Al Hamelin shattered his previous best by holding his breath for four minutes, 42 seconds, but didn’t comply with AIDA International rules on giving the ‘all clear’ at the end of his hold, disqualifying his attempt.

Ali Al Shehhi, meanwhile, managed to hold his breath for three minutes, 17 seconds, coming close to the UAE national record set by Ahmed Khoori of just over four minutes.