Hossa (Finland) (AFP)

The Finnish Johanna Nordblad, Thursday in Hossa, Finland, broke the absolute world record for freediving under ice in a jersey and without fins with 103 m of sliding, or 2 min 42 in water at 2 degrees and an ambient temperature of 7 degrees.

It is a feat that no man or woman had accomplished before her.

Dressed in a short wetsuit, covering only the torso and thighs, Johanna Nordblad set an unprecedented mark, the very first in the official history of world records under ice in dynamic apnea (horizontal glide), which until then were there the matter of Guinness records.

"It's the absolute longest dive under the ice. Ever done! And I did it!", Rejoiced the 45-year-old freediver, joined by AFP.

Nordbald was embarking on a world record attempt for the second time.

On March 14, 2015, in Asikkala (Finland), she became the first woman to swim in apnea and swimsuit over 50 m distance, or 55 seconds.

She has been thinking about this record for two years, which she should have attempted just a year ago, but the health crisis linked to Covid-19 has disrupted her plans.

"It was more difficult than in 2015, where I had trained a lot, every day, so it was almost easier. There, it's 53 meters more, it was a long dive. And at because of the coronavirus, all the pools are closed, I couldn't really train regularly, so I was much more nervous before diving, "said this professional designer, whose personal distance record was 137 m ... but in hot water.

- Six minutes without breathing -

"It's so easy to give up at the last moment. I couldn't find an excuse, it wasn't easy, and I did," said Nordblad, able to hold his breath for six minutes.

The Finn, who discovered the benefits of cold water after a serious cycling accident, initially planned to complete 82m under icy water before aiming for 103m, to ensure an absolute record and official.

The International Freediving Federation, CMAS, recently took over the ice records, which until then had been the business of Guinness Records, without really any rules.

Under the "Guinness" era, the longest distance covered under the ice, in swimsuits and without fins was established by the Russian Ekaterina Nekrasova, that is to say 102.7 m on March 6, improving the 81 m signed in February by the Czech David Vencl.

According to CMAS rules - initiated by two freedivers, the Frenchman Arthur Guérin-Boëri and the Finnish Antero Joki - there is no minimum ice thickness (against 30 cm for Guinness), but there is the obligation of a lanyard attached by a harness to the freediver, an exit protocol and an anti-doping control.

Arthur Guérin-Boëri will attempt a record himself on March 25 in Finland, in a finless partial combination and breaststroke.

© 2021 AFP