Doping Scandal Erupts Just Days Ahead Of Biggest Freediving Competition In The World

The annual Vertical Blue freediving competition is the most prestigious freediving event in the world and it is set to begin later this week and will run from July 20-30.

In total, there are 37 competitors in the 2023 Vertical Blue competition and the field recently shrank by three after three Croatian athletes were banned from the competition for possession of PEDs.

The Vertical Blue competition, and competitive free diving in general, adheres to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations. Upon arrival to Long Island, Bahamas, three Croatian athletes were found in possession of substances banned by WADA when their luggage was searched.

VB Freediving made the announcement on their YouTube channel and it included images of the banned substances.

They added the “included substances that are on the WADA banned list for all sport, as well as other prescription drugs that are known to be PEDs for freediving, and are included on the banned list for VB according to its doping policy.”

A press release was also published (via Deeper Blue):

“On July 4, 2023, as part of the Vertical Blue doping policy and procedures, to which all VB athletes have signed their agreement during pre-registration, three Croatian athletes, including VB registrants Vitomir Maricic and Petar Klovar, underwent a doping control luggage search upon their arrival on Long Island, Bahamas.

“During the search, four (4) known Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) were discovered in the luggage of both athletes. These included substances that are on the WADA banned list for all sport, as well as other prescription drugs that are known to be PEDs for freediving, and are included on the banned list for VB according to its doping policy.

It went on to add:

Furthermore, audio documentation of the doping control revealed that the athletes in question discussed (in Croatian language) the drugs that were in their luggage, as well [as] drugs they had taken recently that they were concerned may still be detectable in their system. The athletes have now been banned from Vertical Blue 2023 and future VB events, and a report is being prepared for the AIDA Disciplinary Committee.

The banned substances found in the Croatian’s luggage included Diazepam Alkaloid (Valium), Normabel 5 Filmomoblozene (Anti-anxiety), Viagra, and Alprazolam (Xanax).

It is hard to overstate how specialized the athletes in the Vertical Blue freediving contest are. The competition, on its face, is simple. Whoever goes the deepest wins.

These athletes are swimming hundreds and hundreds of feet deep on a single breath. Using an anti-anxiety medication to calm one’s nerves ahead of a potentially lethal dive into a pitch black abyss would provide an advantage it doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to understand.

Here is one of the competitors (in good standing) practicing on the edge of Dean’s Blue Hole in The Bahamas, off Long Island, where the 2023 Vertical Blue competition will be held:

Just being in the presence of that dark blue void is unsettling for many. Now imagine swimming hundreds of feet below the surface there.

The current freediving world record for deepest dive is 702 feet on a single breath. That record was set by Herbert Nitsch in 2007. He also made it to a depth of 831 feet but sustained a brain injury in the process, according to Koox Diving.

Vertical Blue is the longest-running and most prestigious competition in freediving. It was founded by William Trubridge, who is basically the Tom Brady of Freediving.

In 2016, Trubridge made it 334-feet deep on a single breath without the use of swimming fins. The New Zealander was the first freediver in the world to go below 330 feet without oxygen.

Trubridge has set 18 world records in his freediving career. The audacity of trying to sneak a handful of banned PEDs into this competition is unprecedented in this sport.

For a complete list of Vertical Blue 2023 competition information, visit their website here. World records will be broken so stay tuned via their YouTube channel as well.

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