Moroccan free diver Alifa Chlaï has set a new national record by reaching a depth of 71 meters in the constant weight with bi-fins category (CWTB) during the World Apnea 2026 Depth Championships held in Limassol, Cyprus.
This attempt has been officially recognized as a new Moroccan national record, with a statement reaching Hespress indicating that this result also represents the deepest distance recorded in Moroccan women's free diving.
Chlaï, 35, hails from Marrakech and works as a physicist at the Swiss Plasma Center at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), specializing in plasma physics and the TCV reactor, alongside her participation in international free diving competitions.
This new record follows a series of achievements by the Moroccan free diving champion throughout 2026, where she recorded Moroccan records in three depth categories during an international competition in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, last May, including constant weight with bi-fins (CWTB), constant weight (CWT), and free immersion (FIM).
Last August, Chlaï raised the Moroccan record in the CWTB category to 61 meters during the World Apnea Depth Championships in Roatan, Honduras, and then added another ten meters to her record just weeks later in Limassol.
Chlaï attempted the 71-meter dive despite one of her fins breaking during the warm-up, but she successfully executed the dive and completed the ascent and surface protocol, leading to the result being officially recognized as a new national record.
According to the statement, Chlaï's result of 71 meters places her third in Africa in the CWTB category for women, based on available rankings, noting that the ranking will remain subject to updates following the World Championships.
Chlaï dedicated the dive to her aunt Rashida Sahli, who passed away on the day of the official opening ceremony of the championship, stating: “I wanted to carry her eternal smile to the heart of the sea.”
The Moroccan free diving champion is a member of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Diving and Underwater Activities, and she continues to balance her scientific work in plasma physics with her international sports participation, after a season in which she raised her national records in multiple free diving categories.
