Natalie Bruce descending the line into deep blue water with light rays from the surface above
Competition

12× continental.
17× US national.

AIDA competition across depth, static, and dynamic disciplines. Competing worldwide, training from Tenerife.

On the board

The record,
in numbers.

Personal bests across eight competitive disciplines, drawn from AIDA International, CMAS, and the global Freedive Ranking. Each bar is her best in metres — the gold line is the women's world record, so you can see how close.

No. 7
World ranking · pool & depth
US #1
DYN · DYNB · DNF
2025 World C’ship medals
200 m
First US woman, pool

Pool — distance on one breath

metres
DYNBUS #1
Dynamic · bi-fins
WR 259m
249m
96% of WR · #6 world
DYNUS #1
Dynamic · fins
WR 280m
257m
92% of WR · #8 world
DNFUS #1
Dynamic · no fins
WR 213m
171m
80% of WR · #20 world
STA
Static apnea
Breath hold — held still, no distance
6:11
#141 world

Depth — metres on one breath

metres
FIM
Free immersion
WR 102m
98m
96% of WR · #7 world
CWTB
Constant weight · bi-fins
WR 106m
80m
75% of WR · #59 world
CNF
Constant weight · no fins
WR 84m
57m
68% of WR · #48 world
CWT
Constant weight
WR 123m
82m
67% of WR · #90 world

Gold line = women's world record · gold badge = US national No. 1. Personal bests, rankings and records via freedivingranking.com, AIDA International & CMAS.

Recent form

Two seasons,
still rising.

From a first 200-metre swim to a world-championship silver and bronze — the dynamic line keeps moving. Dynamic with fins climbed from 231 m to 257 m in a single year.

231m
DYN · 2024
→ +26m
257m
DYN · 2025
2024

First American woman to 200 m

Dynamic pool — 200 m covered on a single breath, a first for any US female freediver.

2024

North American record · DYN 231 m

Set at the 32nd AIDA Pool World Championship.

2025

Bronze medal · DYN 257 m

2025 AIDA World Championships, Wakayama — and a new North American continental record.

2025

Vice-World Champion · DYNB 249 m

2025 AIDA World Championships, Wakayama — silver in dynamic bi-fins, past the previous world-record mark.

2026

Ranked World No. 7

Current global standing across pool and depth disciplines.

In the water

Competition is the practice, made public.

Natalie Bruce rigging the competition line and bottom plate underwater
Setting the line
Natalie Bruce descending with safety divers watching on either side
Down the line — safeties watching
Natalie Bruce surfacing at the rope after a competition dive, coastline behind
Surface and recovery
Black and white waterline view of the dive boat with crew and coastline behind
The disciplines

What AIDA freediving actually involves.

AIDA International is the governing body for competitive freediving. Every record is verified by judges, filmed, and submitted for ratification. The sport spans depth, time, and distance disciplines — each demanding a different relationship with breath and stillness.

CWT

Constant Weight

The athlete descends and ascends using fins or a monofin along a vertical rope, without pulling on the rope or changing ballast. Considered the purest test of freediving depth.

CNF

Constant Weight No Fins

The same discipline but without fins — the athlete uses only arm strokes and a dolphin kick. The most physically demanding depth discipline.

STA

Static Apnea

The athlete floats face-down in the water holding their breath for as long as possible. A test of relaxation, mental control, and physiological response.

DYN

Dynamic with Fins

The athlete swims horizontally in a pool, covering as much distance as possible on a single breath. Combines technique, efficiency, and mental endurance.

Train for competition.

The Performance program is built for divers preparing to compete. A structured 12-week block with Natalie.