World Champion Japanese Freediver Sayuri Kinoshita has passed away in a tragic non-diving accident, her family announced this week.

According to a post on her Facebook page, Kinoshita “suffered a tragic accident in the early hours of Thursday morning.”

She was rushed to hospital and placed on life support, but the injuries she sustained were too extensive to survive.

“Despite this, her body was so strong that she kept fighting another four days before her heart finally gave up on Japan’s National Ocean Day, the 15th of July. She was surrounded by her family and friends.”

Her family said a “farewell party” would be scheduled separate from the wake and funeral service for her friends and family “to enjoy a celebration of her amazing life . . . for a bright and enjoyable day.”

Kinoshita broke the women’s Freediving world record in the Constant Weight No Fins (CNF) discipline at Vertical Blue 2016 with a 72-meter (236-foot) dive, being the first athlete to break any of the long-standing records held by the late Russian freediver, Natalia Molchanova.

At the 2018 Vertical Blue competition, Kinoshita broke the Free Immersion (FIM) women’s world record with a 97-meter (318-foot) dive, as well as making her first Constant Weight (CWT) dive to 100 meters (328 feet), making her only the sixth female freediver to reach that depth in competition.

Read the Facebook post announcing Kinoshita’s death here, and check out DeeperBlue.com’s February 2019 profile of her here.

A crowdfunding campaign for memorial flowers has also been established. To donate, click here.