Apnea Cairns

“Coach” might be the hardest-working word in freediving. It’s in half the bios, and doing three completely different things while it’s at it.

There’s the competition-day support, the season-long trainer, and the technique eye - and when someone asks me to coach them, the first step is figuring out which one they’re actually after.

All three are coaching. They just cover different roles, and knowing which one you want saves everyone a lot of confused DMs 😊.

I currently offer technique coaching. If you want eyes on you without a full takeover of your training plan, you know where to find me.

Photos by the amazing THE PHOTO CORNER 🙌

When I first heard about freediving in 2006, I watched a video of a 40m no-fins dive - just arm strokes and leg kicks, down a rope and back up on one breath. Back then, this was a world record, set with ease by Yasemin Dahelic from Turkey. With ease! 40m! I was mesmerised, and wondered, how is that even humanly possible? That’s where my dream started, I wanted to do this too.

Eighteen years later, on day one of the 2025 Depth World Championships in Cyprus, this dream came true. I was the very first athlete to dive - and I finally knew the answer. It felt easy for me too.

The rest of the championships went just as smooth, placing 18th of 56 women overall and reaching one personal best after the other with each dive:

• 51 m FIM → PB
• 52 m CWTB → PB
• 54 m CWT → PB

Every dive clean, calm, some might say lazy (I’m looking at you Catherine Crossland) - and with plenty of room for more.

Overall, 2025 was a season of so many firsts: first time in Cyprus, first time coached by 🙏, first time I actually did my dry drills, first time announcing a PB on every single dive and hitting every one - 8 times in total.

Huge thanks to Free2Dive - Savvas Savva Free Diving Centre Cyprus, Melody Carragher, Jürgen Kling, Sasa and Viki for being by my side, and to the whole AIDA International championship team - having been on both sides, as athlete and crew, I know the work behind it.

And now I’m carrying it forward. My depth base training in Dahab is already done - less about chasing numbers (though a little PB found me there too) and more about refining technique and building a solid foundation, with the best people, old friends and new. Community is half of why I do this.

If you want to train with me too, get in touch 💙.

Cover by Luke Coley 🙏🏼

Was diese WM besonders gemacht hat, war nicht mein Ergebnis - es waren die Momente und die Menschen. Ein ganzes österreichisches Team war dabei: Viktoria Urbanek | Chronic Wanderlust Travel & Dive Blog, .josefy_freedive, MARTINA • WEITENTHALER • Freediver • Breathwork Trainer, 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗡𝗶𝘅, , .is.ok, dazu , .froestl, mt_w und von Aida Austria Rossi, Arno und Mimi Kamusi. Und wie in den letzten Jahren war ich nicht nur als Athletin da, sondern auch im AIDA INTERNATIONAL Team.

Daheim meine Mama, die alles live angesehen und für jede:n aus unserem Team gejubelt hat 💙 - und ich war so stolz, wie stark ihr getaucht seid, große Gratulation zu den vielen persönlichen und nationalen Rekorden.

Zwar haben sich meine Ergebnisse nicht verbessert - meine Technik allerdings schon, und ich gehe mit vollem Herzen weiter.

Großer Dank dabei an Viki, die für mich da war, wenn ich dran kam und mich durch mein Surface Protocol geführt - ok, geschrien - hat 🥰.

Jetzt geht’s wieder in die Tiefe - Ägypten, Zypern, Bali. Wenn du mit mir trainieren willst, schreib mir. Das wird gut. Ich freu mich riesig.

Danke für die Fotos, liebes Team - während ich mit Vorbereiten, Tauchen, Atmen oder Arbeiten beschäftigt war :))

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What made this event special wasn’t my result - it was the moments and the people: a whole Austrian team. And as in past years, I was there not only as an athlete but also on the AIDA INTERNATIONAL team.

Back home: my mum, who watched each livestream and cheered for every single person on our team 💙 - and I was so proud of your strong dives, huge congratulations on all the personal and national records.

While my results didn’t grow, my technique did, and I’m walking on with a full heart.

A special thanks to Viktoria Urbanek | Chronic Wanderlust Travel & Dive Blog, who looked after me when I dived and guided - ok, shouted - me through my surface protocol 🥰.

And now it’s time to go deep again - Egypt, Cyprus, Bali. If you want to train with me, send me a DM. This will be good. I am so very excited.

Photos by my dear team - taken while I was busy diving, breathing, or working - thank you :))

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Mein Fokus dieses Jahr: Training für die AIDA Pool-WM in Japan. Weiterkommen als letztes Jahr. Und dann ... lief nichts wie geplant.

Ich dachte, ich wäre bereit für neue Nationalrekorde.
Aber ein intensiver Frühling, eine Erkältung vor der WM und ein bisschen zu viel „alles gleichzeitig“ haben mich komplett ausgebremst.

Das Ergebnis: drei Versuche, und keiner davon ging auf.
Bitter? Oh ja.
Lehrreich? Noch mehr.

Jetzt geht’s weiter, mit 6 Wochen Tiefentraining in Zypern. Fokus, Regeneration, gutes Timing.
Ich freu mich riesig auf dieses neue Kapitel.

Danke an alle, die mich auf diesem Weg begleiten - beim Training, mental, logistisch oder einfach durch Dasein. Upwards and onwards!

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My focus this year: training for the AIDA Pool World Championship in Japan. Going further than last year. And then… nothing went to plan.

I thought I was ready for new national records.
But an intense spring, a cold right before the comp - and just a bit too much of everything at once - left me completely run-down.

The result: three dives, none of them successful.
Frustrating? Oh yes.
Insightful? Even more.

Now it’s time for the next chapter: 6 weeks of depth training in Cyprus - focus, recovery, timing.
I’m beyond excited.

Thank you to everyone supporting me on this journey whether it’s in training, mentally, logistically, or just by being there. Upwards and onwards!

Photo Credits:
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