Yasemin Dalkılıç


Yasemin Dalkılıç is a Turkish female free diver. 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.

Biography

Yasemin Dalkılıç was born and grew up in Ankara, Turkey, some away from the nearest coast. At age 14, she was a member of the national monofin finswimming team, where she stayed for several years and set several Turkish records. By the time she was 16, she had established herself as the best freediver in her country. In 1996, she started as a student in the mathematics department at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, where she became a member of the Subaqua Society.
In 1998 Dalkılıç 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 her.
Yasemin started a training regime designed by Rudi Castineyra. Under his guidance she set her first world record with a dive to. In 2000 the duo set their sights on variable ballast freediving, which comprises two categories. On 19 and 23 July Dalkılıç beat the existing world records in the limited and unlimited variable ballast categories by reaching and respectively.
In 2001, she set two more world records. First improving her own mark in the limited variable ballast with a dive in Egypt and three months later, a second one in the unassisted constant ballast category, with a dive to in Kaş, Antalya Province, Turkey.

Records