Şahika Ercümen (born 16 January 1985) is a Turkish
dietitian and world record holder
free-diver.
Born on January 16, 1985, in
Çanakkale, she was educated at the Gazi Primary School, and received a secondary education at the Milli Piyango
Anatolian High School in her hometown. For her higher education, she moved to
Ankara, and became a dietitian graduating from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at
Başkent University
Başkent University ( tr, Başkent Üniversitesi) is a private university in Ankara, Turkey. The university was founded on 13 January 1994 by Professor Dr. Mehmet Haberal. The University center is located in Ankara and also has Medical and Resea ...
's Faculty of Health Sciences.
Her participation in
underwater sports began with
scuba diving and
underwater rugby. For twelve years, she is interested in various branches of underwater sports, and is a member of four national teams since 2001. She participated with the
underwater hockey,
underwater rugby,
underwater orienteering and free diving national teams in the World and European Championships.
Achievements
Her long
dynamic apnea under ice (DYN) that was achieved on February 11, 2011, in
Lake Weissensee,
Austria, found entry into the ''
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' for both for men and women.
Former records were for women and for men.
Şahika Ercümen is former world record holder of
constant weight with fins at sea (CWT) discipline with set in
Dahab,
Egypt on November 10, 2011 (recognized by
CMAS). The former record belonged to
Tanya Streeter
Tanya Streeter (born Tanya Dailey, 10 January 1973, Grand Cayman) is a British-Caymanian-American world champion freediver, inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in March 2000.
For more than two months, from 17 August 2002, she held the o ...
with .
The same day at the same place, she set another CMAS-recognized world record diving deep in
variable weight apnea without fins at sea (VNF).
On June 1, 2013, she broke her own world record diving in the VNF discipline to a depth of in
saline
Saline may refer to:
* Saline (medicine), a liquid with salt content to match the human body
* Saline water, non-medicinal salt water
* Saline, a historical term (especially US) for a salt works or saltern
Places
* Saline, Calvados, a commune in ...
soda waters of
Lake Van
Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...
, eastern Turkey (recognized by CMAS).
She stated that she preferred the site for her world-record free-diving attempt because she wanted to call world's attention to the migration of
Pearl Mullet
''Alburnus tarichi'', known as the tarek, pearl mullet, Van fish or Van shah kuli, is a species of cyprinid fish, found only in Turkey, where it is the only fish known to inhabit Lake Van. It is endemic to the Lake Van basin. It is locally known ...
(Chalcalburnus tarichi), also called Lake Van fish.
She set a new free-diving world record in the VNF discipline reaching the depth mark in 2:49 minutes at
Kaş, Antalya, southern Turkey on July 23, 2014. Former record in this discipline, which was set the previous year, belonged to
Derya Can
Derya Can Göçen (born Derya Can on October 12, 1979) is a Turkish world record holder female free-diver and school teacher.
Family life
Derya Can was born in Çanakkale, Turkey on October 12, 1979. She studied physical education and sports at ...
, another Turkish diver.
On October 22, 2016, Ercümen set a new world record off Kaş, Turkey diving to a depth of in the variable weight apnea with fins at sea (VWT) discipline in 2:44 minutes. Her record was recognized by CMAS officials at site.
She set a new CMAS world record for women diving in sweet water of
Lake Salda in
Yeşilova
Yeşilova is a town in Burdur Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. It is the seat of Yeşilova District. ,
Burdur Province, Turkey to in 1:58 minutes. The previous world record was at .
On 26 October 2021, she set a new world record in variable weight apnea without fins at sea (VNF) category at Kaş, Antalya, Turkey with , which is valid for women and men.
World records
; DYN under ice
* - February 11, 2011 in
Lake Weissensee, Austria
;CWT
* - November 10, 2011 in
Dahab, Egypt
;VNF
* - November 10, 2011 in
Dahab, Egypt
* - June 1, 2013 in
Lake Van
Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...
, Turkey
* - July 23, 2014 in
Kaş, Antalya, Turkey
* - October 26, 2021 in Kaş, Antalya, Turkey
;VWT
* - October 22, 2016 in Kaş, Antalya, Turkey
; Fresh water
* - October 26, 2018 in
Lake Salda,
Yeşilova
Yeşilova is a town in Burdur Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. It is the seat of Yeşilova District. , Burdur, Turkey
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ercumen, Sahika
Living people
1985 births
Turkish freedivers
Turkish sportswomen
Sportspeople from Çanakkale
Başkent University alumni
Dietitians