An absolute novelty this year was the location of Kalamata, much appreciated by freedivers, which for a couple of weeks became the true world capital of freediving. Coincidentally, in addition to the CMAS World Championships, Kalamata also hosted Deep Week, with over 160 participants, bringing nearly 500 freedivers to find themselves in the same waters. Speaking of numbers and statistics, the event involved over 300 freedivers, of which 136 athletes competed, supported by a small army of partners, coaches, safety teams, judges and officials. For the first time the CMAS has decided to separate the men's and women's races, creating an eight-day championship. And each day of the competition was preceded by careful strategies: declaring a greater depth could bring a medal, but being more conservative guaranteed a white card. Dare or wait for other people's mistakes? This has been the dilemma for several athletes. Monofin - CWT - 4-6 October 2024On the first day, during the men's monofin event, Davide Carrera gave Italy their first medal with a dive to 116 metres, finishing just two points behind the Greek Manolis Giankos, while Alexey Molchanov saved the protocol at the last second with a dive to 135 meters. Andrey Matvenko, who had announced 121 meters, suffered a blackout, thus giving up third place to Carrera.After a day of competition missed due to bad weather, it was finally the women's turn. Japan's Hanako Hirose surprised everyone with a comeback in style, completing a clean dive to 113 meters and earning silver, despite wasting time searching for tags under the clay target while in a state of narcosis. Alessia Zecchini reached 109 meters, winning a bronze medal for Italy, while the gold went to Slovenian Alenka Artnik, who defended the title for the third consecutive year. Chiara Obino completed a beautiful dive to 102 meters, finishing in fifth place.As for me, I came from a period of missed training due to a virus, but I recovered just in time and made a wonderful dive to 92 meters, with a large exit margin, gaining a place in the top 10 in the world. Free immersion - FIM - 7-8 October 2024The men's test was marked by tensions related to the elasticity of the rope, leading to many red and yellow cards: 10 red, 16 yellow and only 20 white. The Frenchman Abdelatif Alouach won with 117 metres, followed by the Omani Omar Al Ghilani at 107 meters and the Greek Manolis Giankos at 106 metres. Antonio Mogavero, who had declared 107 meters, turned at 94 meters, thus losing the silver.In the women's test, the cold and narcosis affected performance. Zecchini, unfortunately, did not complete the protocol in time, losing the world gold by just four seconds to the Ukrainian Kate Sadurska (95 metres). Silver went to the American Enchante Gallardo, followed by her compatriot Talya Davidoff. Linda Paganelli, with a flawless dive to 91 meters, took fourth place. Breaststroke - CNF - 9-10 October 2024The breaststroke event saw Mogavero come close to the podium with 76 metres, one meter less than the Omani Al Ghilani, who won bronze. Gold went to Molchanov with 92 meters, while the Spaniard Francisco Quesada got silver with 82 meters.For the women, Zecchini suffered a blackout on the surface after an attempt at 71 metres, handing the silver to Belgium's Marine Simonis (64 metres). Kate Sadurska set a new world record at 80 metres, albeit with a samba on the surface, while Spain's Isabel Sanchez Aran finished third with 57 metres. CWTB - October 11-12, 2024In the last discipline of the world championship, Carrera returned to the podium with 113 meters, also setting the new Italian record. Frenchman Alouach achieved silver with 115 metres, while Molchanov won gold with 125 metres, despite not setting the announced world record due to failure to return the tag.In the women's competition, Zecchini "sparkled" by winning a silver with an immense dive at 100 meters. The gold went to Artink, who defended his title with 103 metres. Paganelli turned before the announced 97 meters, leaving third place to Sadurska.Personally, I fought for my personal best at 87 meters, in a rough sea and I am very satisfied with my seventh place in the world. ConclusionsThis was my third World Cup and, beyond the inevitable ups and downs, it is the one I enjoyed the most from a personal relationship point of view. The Italian team was truly united, sharing together both the stellar performances and the difficult moments of each other. Next year CMAS intends to repeat the Greece event, and we are already ready to face the challenge!