French world record-holding 120 metre freediving champion who broke the world record seven times
Europe
France
Tuesday 9 August 2022 saw Arnaud Jerald executed the deepest ever free dive in bi-fins. He descended to a depth of 120 metres, i.e., 393.7 feet. It was the seventh world record dive of his career.
Arnaud Jerald is no stranger to adversity. Due to his dyslexia, he found navigating his school career difficult. His father, however, introduced him to freediving while still quite young. He attended his first freediving course at the age of 15 and reached a depth of thirty metres. This was an exceptional performance when taking his age into account.
A new world opened in front of his eyes at the bottom of the ocean. Arnaud Jerald had found himself and a place where he felt safe and at home. He felt he could, for the first time, really breathe. He had found his calling.
Arnaud Jerald started taking part in competitions upon completing his studies in 2017. He very quickly started setting new records. By the time he turned 21, he had reached a depth of 100 metres, making him the youngest free diver in history to do so. According to him, it is incredible to think that more people have made a trip to the moon than those who had dived to a depth of 100 metres in one single breath.
He broke his first world record in 2019 with a 108 metres dive. He beat his own record in 2020 when at the age of 24 years, he set a new world record by diving to a depth of 112 metres in Kalamata, Greece. His first time participating in Vertical Blue, commonly regarded as the ‘Wimbledon’ of freediving, Arnaud Jerald once again broke the world record with a dive of 116 metres. He broke the record a few days later by diving one meter deeper.
In 2022, Arnaud Jerald once more returned to Vertical blue, setting a new record in bi-fins. Diving to a depth of 119 metres, he broke his sixth world record. A few days later, however, on 9 August 2022, he set the new world record with a dive of 120 metres.
As a conference speaker, Arnaud Jerald touches on topics he closely relates to. These include resilience, goal setting, leadership, and accepting responsibility for yourself. He lives in France and speaks French and English.
“Nous avons eu l’opportunité d’inviter Arnaud lors de notre business plan usine il y’a quelques semaines. Cet échange a été très enrichissant pour chacun et a permis de renforcer nos messages sécurité . Le témoignage d’Arnaud est d’une grande maturité et permet d’insister sur les principes fondamentaux d’une culture sécurité robuste.”
“Quel plaisir de travailler avec Arnaud Une belle prestance sur scène, une communication claire et captivante. Toutes les équipes ont été touchées par son témoignage. Quel plaisir de travailler avec Arnaud Une belle prestance sur scène, une communication claire et captivante. Toutes les équipes ont été touchées par son témoignage.”
“Bravo et merci à Arnaud pour son intervention le 4 février 2019 auprès de l'ensemble des salariés du site. Les messages passés sur la sécurité étaient clairs, illustrés et en parfaite adéquation avec nos ambitions. L'auditoire était captivé tant par la force et l'incarnation par Arnaud des enjeux de la sécurité que par la maturité et le potentiel de ce jeune champion. Une conférence que l'équipe n'oubliera pas ! Merci”