Background
Yasemin Dalkılıç was born and grew up in Ankara, Turkey, around 270 km (170 mi) away from the nearest coast.
Yasemin Dalkılıç was born and grew up in Ankara, Turkey, around 270 km (170 mi) away from the nearest coast.
Middle East Technical University.
She holds numerous records in different categories of free diving. Though still in the middle of her career, she is already considered to be one of the all-time greats in the sport. By the time she was 16, she had already established herself as the best freediver in her country, and a soon-to-be star of the sport at a world level
In 1998 she competed in the Freediving World Cup in Sardinia, Italy, where she clinched the first place among the women.
A year later, in 1999, Yasemin made an acquaintance that would change her life. International trainer Rudi Castineyra, who would guide world champions Alejandro Ravelo, Tanya Streeter and David Lee to several world records, showed great interest in Yasemin.
Yasemin started a training regime designed by Rudi Castineyra, which maximized her potential in a very short time. Later that year, she set her first world record with a dive to 68 m (223 ft).
In 2000, the duo set their sights on variable ballast freediving, which comprises two challenging categories.
On 19 and 23 July respectively, Yasemin shattered the existing world records in the limited and unlimited variable ballast categories, by raising (or lowering) the bar to 100 m (330 ft) and 120 m (390 ft) respectively. In the year 2001, she set two more world records, first improving her own mark in the limited variable ballast with a 105 m (344 ft) dive in Egypt and three months later, a second one in the unassisted constant ballast category, with a plunge to 40 m (130 ft) in Kaş, Antalya Province, Turkey. Five of her records have been broadcast live on national and international networks, more than any other freediver ever.
Unassisted Constant Ballast 40 m, 1:56 minimum WR on 22 October 2001 in Kardamena, on the island of Kaş, Antalya, Turkey
Limited Variable Ballast 105 m, 2:38 minimum WR on 15 July 2001 in Hurghada by the Island of Abu Ramada in the Red Sea, Egypt
Unlimited Variable Ballast 120 m WR on 23 July 2000 in Bodrum, Turkey
Limited Variable Ballast 100 m 2:22 minimum WR on 19 July 2000 in Bodrum
Limited Variable Ballast 96 m 2:22 minimum WR on 14 July 2000 in Bodrum
Equipment Assisted Constant Ballast 68 m 2:27 minimum WR on 7 November 1999.
At age 14, she was already a member of the national monofin finswimming team, where she stayed for several years and set several Turkish records. In 1996, she became a student in the mathematics department at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, where she also became a member of the Subaqua Society.