Croatian freediver Mirela Kardašević wins gold and two silver at World Championships
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Mirela Kardašević (Photo: Instagram)
ZAGREB, 26 June 2021 – Croatian freediver Mirela Kardašević has won a gold and two silver medals at the World Championships in Belgrade.
Mirela, who was taking part in only her second world championships, won the gold medal in the dynamic no fins (191m), before winning two silver medals, first in the dynamic with bifins (232m) and then in the dynamic with monofin (256m).
“The female competition was extremely hard, toughest one so far which makes this medals even more special. Competing in all three dynamic disciplines is definitely draining since there is not a lot of time to recover, but I enjoy them all,” Mirela said on social media, before thanking all those who helped.
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Earlier this year Mirela, who is from the capital Zagreb, smashed two world records in two days at the Croatian championships.
Mirela has only been freediiving for the past three years and got into the sport by chance. She started swimming at the age of five for therapy when she was diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes, a condition that occurs when blood supply to the ball part of the hip joint is temporarily interrupted and the bone begins to die.
After having a number of surgeries, and becoming a mother, Mirela decided to do some sports again at the age of 30. She got back into swimming and when she saw some freedivers in action she tried and fell in love with it.
The 6-time world record holder will next be in the pool at the outdoor World Championships in October.
