Loïc Leferme

Loïc Leferme was a French freediver who lived from 28 August 1970 to 11 April 2007 and held the world record for free diving until Herbert Nitsch surpassed it on 2 October 2005. He was one of the founders of AIDA in 1990, together with Roland Specker and Claude Chapuis in Nice. His first world record was a dive of 137 metres in 1999, he reached 162 metres in 2002 without breathing apparatus, and on 30 October 2004 he extended his own mark to 171 metres in the no limits category. He was the leading advocate of the no limits style that came to be known as Chapuis Style Freediving. He died during a private training session in Villefranche-sur-Mer when his equipment failed and he did not reach the surface in time, while preparing a record attempt planned for July 2007.