Yasemin Dalkilic was born in Ankara, Turkiye, on May 2nd, 1979. She fell in love with the sea at a very early age, watching old Jacques Cousteau documentaries on TV. Living in a landlocked city, she could only indulge her passion during the summer holidays, which she would spend by the seaside, diving from sunrise to sunset. At age 11 she joined the swimming team and by age 14, she was a member of the national Monofin swimming team, where she set several Turkish records. At 16, she had established herself as the best freediver in her country, diving deeper than any man or woman of any age, and set her sights in the international arena. All the while, she continued to excel in her other passions, music, where she learned to play several instruments, and mathematics, where she earned a position at the prestigious Middle East Technical University in 1996. Two years later, during the First Freediving World Cup in Sardinia, Italy, in 1998, she placed first among women, putting the freediving world on notice that she was ready for her ascension to the top of the sport. Always one to match her passion with a strong analytical mindset, Yasemin realized that to take the next steps, she would have to complement her natural talent with an effective training regime. To that end, she took the bold step of contacting Rudi Castineyra, acknowledged at that time as the world's best freediving trainer. Rudi, as it happened, had just finished working with the current female World Champion in several categories, and was keen on taking a new disciple. They agreed on an accelerated training timetable, and by November of that same year, Yasemin had set her first World Record under Rudi's guidance. The match of Rudi's innovative training system and Yasemin's immense natural talent and fluidity in the water kept on paying dividends, and from 1999 to 2006, Yasemin went on to set a total of 8 world Records. She was the first woman to ever set a World Record in the Unassisted Constant Ballast category, so difficult in fact that no female diver had even attempted a record before. She was also the first to reach the 100 meter mark in Limited Ballast category and the first to break the 120 meters in any category, a defining achievement that earned her the nickname "The World's Deepest Diving Woman". Yasemin's pioneering exploits helped push freediving into the widespread recognition it enjoys today, especially for women, paving the way not only for deeper depths but for lucrative sponsorships such as the ones she secured from international banks, watch companies, and even global automobile brands. She also forged the way for freediving to become a media friendly sport, with her 2000 and 2001 World Records being the first, and still only freediving records being broadcast Live over worldwide satellite services and seen anywhere from Eurosports and ESPN to BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and even Good Morning America. The explosion in popularity freediving has enjoyed over the last decade has resulted in the arrival of new champions and Yasemin's records have now been surpassed, but she is acknowledged as one of the driving forces that made that progress possible.
Personally, Yasemin and Rudi became a team out of the water too, and were married in 2003, being the proud parents of two beautiful daughters. Professionally, Yasemin became a music composer for documentaries, an underwater filmmaker, and a stuntwoman. She has continued to collaborate with Rudi on many underwater projects, including several documentary series where she starred, but has also diverged from the aquatic world and currently spends her time working as a computer programmer for a world class B2B firm. Yasemin is also a committed environmentalist, frequently lending her name and efforts to organizations like the WWF (World Wildlife Fund). She can be frequently found kayaking the rivers and springs in Northern Florida, spearfishing in the Gulf of Mexico, freediving wrecks in the Atlantic, sailing in the Mediterranean, skiing in Colorado, and reading Harry Potter books with her daughters. There are many more adventures the family is planning all over the world but diving still holds a special place. Says Yasemin: "Freediving is dear to my heart. It taught me to love and respect the sea and it gave me the life I have today. I am in awe of the new competitors today just as I was of the ones that came before me. I feel honored to have helped in some way to pave the way for them, and I hope they too use their passion to fight for the health of our oceans and the survival of our world. Long live the Blue Planet"
This is Yasemin’s first world record! This is also her favorite category, the one that demands the most out of the diver, for he/she is required to swim down and up only with the help of fins. On Sunday November 7th, 1999, Yasemin kicked down to the record depth, retrieved a tag under the supervision of a judge, and then came back to the surface in a total dive time of 2:27 minutes. Where other freedivers had chosen to start their careers with less demanding dives, Yasemin opted to start hers with the category that is considered the most athletic, demanding and technically complex of all. This was certainly a good way to let the diving world know that she had arrived. The record was verified by judges from F.R.E.E. (Freediving Regulations & Education Entity).
Yasemin set these 3 World Records in a period of 10 days in the most spectacular categories of freediving. The dives took place in the town of Bodrum, in southern Turkiye. While the record to 120 meters made her the female freediver that has gone the deepest evet in the world, she also became the first woman ever to pass the significant 100 meter mark in Limited Variable Ballast story. Another highlight of this event was for the dives to be transmitted LIVE to several channels at the same time from the surface all the way to the bottom with a very big production, being another first in the history. You can read the story of this event written by Yasemin’s trainer Rudi Castineyra by clicking here.
Yasemin set these 3 World Records in a period of 10 days in the most spectacular categories of freediving. The dives took place in the town of Bodrum, in southern Turkiye. While the record to 120 meters made her the female freediver that has gone the deepest evet in the world, she also became the first woman ever to pass the significant 100 meter mark in Limited Variable Ballast story. Another highlight of this event was for the dives to be transmitted LIVE to several channels at the same time from the surface all the way to the bottom with a very big production, being another first in the history. You can read the story of this event written by Yasemin’s trainer Rudi Castineyra by clicking here.
This is the first time Yasemin dives in a foreign country to break a world record. Very pleased with her experience she quotes “It was always my dream to come to Egypt as I admired their history so much and wanted to dive in the wonderful waters of the Red Sea. The attention I got from the country and the support from the organizers and the team proved that this certainly was a very good choice we made”. With the dive that took place in Hurgada, Egypt, by the Island of Abu Ramada in the Red Sea, Yasemin set the New World Record to 105 meters with a total dive time of 2:38 minutes. The record was officially verified by the judges of F.R.E.E. (Freediving Regulations & Education Entity). To read Yasemin’s account on this dive click here.
On October 22nd 2001, Yasemin set another World Record in the Unassisted Constant Ballast category. In this category the diver is required to swim down and up without any assistance from the fins or the line. Yasemin set the first official world record in history in this category with a dive to 40 meters/131 feet which took her 1:56 minutes. The dive took place at 11:15, off the small town of Kardamena, on the island of Kos, Greece. The dive was officially verified by F.R.E.E. (Freediving Regulations & Education Entity)
On June 4th and June 6th 2004, Yasemin set new World Records in the Unassisted Constant Ballast category with dives to 43 and 46 meters respectively. Having been the first freediver to set an official world record in this new category, accepted to be the hardest one of all, Yasemin continued her dominance on this event. The dives took place in the town of Kas, province of Antalya in Turkiye and were officially verified by F.R.E.E. (Freediving Regulations & Education Entity).
8-time freediving world champion Yasemin Dalkilic, who was in Kas, Antalya preparing for a world record attempt to 125 meters in the Limited Variable Ballast category, has canceled her official record date of May 2nd. After a 6 year absence from freediving, Yasemin had come back with the help of the main sponsor Turkcell, host location Kas, Hera Hotel, Linde Gases and Aquaclub Dive School. Everything was going as planned for Dalkilic who quickly had progressed through training dives to 80, 90 and 101 meters and then on April 22nd proceeded to set a new world record to 106 meters in a dive time 2:45 minutes. This dive improved on the F.R.E.E. existing record of 105 meters, also set by Dalkilic in 2001.