Carlos Coste

Carlos Coste (born in Caracas, Venezuela, on February 2, 1976) is a legendary world class freediver and record-holder. He started his training in Apnea and Free-diving in 1996, and got his first national record in 1998. In October 2002 he broke his 1st Official World Record (actually 2x WR in one week: FIM -93m and CWT -90m). In October 2003, he became the first human to achieve a Free Immersion dive of more than 100 meters (-101m, Venezuela 2003), certified by AIDA World Record and Guinness World Records, He also was the first freediver to pass 100 meters in Constant Weight (-102, Cyprus 2004). Coste became First AIDA Depth Individual World Champion, He won the World Championship making a new World Record in Constant Weight -105m, celebrated in Nice, 2005. He broke the AIDA (International Association for the Development of Apnea) world record for Variable Weight Free-diving, with a 140-meter immersion in the Red Sea, Egypt, on May 9, 2006. This record was superseded by Herbert Nitsch, on 7 December 2009 at Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas. In 2010, after a long relationship, he married his manager Gabriela Contreras (Gaby)

Additionally, Coste has broken several free-diving world records, including Constant Weight (-90 meter, October 2002; -102 meter, June 2004; -105 meter, 2005; now held by Alexey Molchanov with -125 meter), Variable Weight (-135 meter, October 2004), and Free Immersion (-93 meter, October 2002; -101 meter, October 2003; now held by William Trubridge with -121 meter). He is the current AIDA Individual World Champion Constant Weight (September 2005).

In February 2006 Carlos dove into a altitude lagoon high in Venezuelan Andes (Laguna de Santo Cristo). It was as well an unprecedented Freediving Record-Event at 3800 m.a.s.l, -57m depth CWT dive. It was a complicated logistics project possible thanks to an awesome TEAM lead by Gaby like most of his Record Events.

He suffered an injury on September 12, 2006 resurfacing from -182m, during a training in attempt break the world record in No Limits 1 meter less from the current WR -183m (held by Herbert Nitsch).

He received intensive hyperbaric treatment in starting in Sharm El Sheik continuing in Germany (Murnau Unfallklinik) as well did months of physiotherapy and lot of training to recover and improve his skills.

From 2007 to 2009 he start to compete again step by step with medical supervision. He made 3rd place in Pool and Depth World Championships including -110m Dive in CWT (yes deeper than his best official performance before the accident) as well a Dynamic Pan-American Record (215m in Aarus Dennmark 2009, Pool World Championships).

In November 2010 Coste broke a new Guinness World Record into the awesome Yucatan Caves (150m Dynamic Apnea, Dos Ojos Cenote). it was a beautiful unprecedented freediving event organized for Gaby together with a great TEAM.

Carlos won the Silver Medal in the 2011 AIDA Depth World Championships in Kalamata-Greece with a new (and still current in 2020) Pan-American Record in CWT -116m

In 2016 Carlos Coste set a new South American Record in his weakest freediving discipline so far: Constant no Fins (CNF), -69m during the Deepsea Challenge Bonaire.

From 2014 Carlos had being developing his Freediving School & Training Center: Deepsea Freediving Bonaire. Gaby and Carlos founded the school and work everyday with students and athletes from all over the world.

Record Chronology: • FIM -93 and CWT -90m AIDA World Records. Venezuela, 2002. • FIM -101 AIDA & Guinness WR (1st Freediver passing 100m in non-assisted discipline). Venezuela, 2003. • CNF -61m (non-official WR). Venezuela, 2003. • VWT -135m. Venezuela, 2004. • CWT -102m AIDA WR (1st freediver below 100m in CWT). Cyprus, 2004. • CWT -105m AIDA WR and Gold Medal in the 1st Individual World Championship. Niza 2005 • CWT -57m Altitude Record CWT Dive 3800 m.a.s.l. Venezuela, 2006. • VWT -140m AIDA WR. Egypt, 2006. • No Limits Dive -182m Best Performance. Egypt, 2006. • DYN 215m, Pan-American Record. AIDA Pool World Championships in Aarus, Dennmark, 2009. • Guinness WR “longest dynamic freedive in cave, 150m” Dos Ojos Cenote in México 2010. • CWT -116m, Pan-American Record. AIDA Depth World Championship in Kalamata, Greece, 2011. • CNF -69m, South American Continental Record. Deepsea Challenge 2016 in Bonaire. • Guinness WR “Longest Dynamic Freedive in Open Waters 177m”. Deepsea Challenge 2016 in Bonaire. • 1st Carlos´s Ultra Marathon performance 50Km, 6h, in Bonaire Ultra 1st Edition, May 10th 2020.

His achievements have been recognized with Venezuela National Sports Institute (June 2005) and with the Orden José Félix Rivas granted by the Venezuelan president (February 2005). He studied Mechanical Engineering in the Central University of Venezuela. In 2017 received the honorary membership distinction of ONSA Venezuela[1] and became part of its Underwater Activities Committee.[2]