World freediving record holder Şahika Ercümen has started training at the 60-meter "Deep Dive Dubai," the world's deepest pool, as she prepares to dive deeper than 100 meters on the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic.
The 60-meter-deep pool holds over 14 million liters of water or the equivalent of six Olympic swimming pools.
"I started training in the deepest pool of the world, albeit for a short time and with limited opportunities," Şahika said in a statement, adding that she is still looking for a sponsor.
"My aim is to write the name of our country in history in gold letters and a gold medal on our 100th anniversary. I will work day and night for this. I hope we will find the necessary support so we can train and participate in the competitions," she said.
About training at the world's deepest pool, Ercümen said, "I was invited to this pool for a long time, but I couldn't go because of my competitions. In the first training dive here, we went down to the deepest point of the pool, 60 meters. Making a strong start to the season," she said.
During the dives, Ercümen was accompanied by Ukrainian National Team athlete and Deep Dive Dubai team leader Natalia Zharkova.
"We wanted to see Şahika here since the first day we opened. She is one of the first international divers we invited. We were finally able to bring her to Dubai and we had one of the most enjoyable dives ever. Our goal is to make the world's deepest pool the second home for divers," Zharkova said.
