Nour Issa, left, and Marc Bou Mansour, right, after successful dives at the freediving world championships off the coast of Limassol on Oct. 4, 2026. (Credit: Federico Buzzoni/@fed.under.water, shared with L’Orient-Le Jour with both athletes’ permission)
“I came with ambitions, but I didn’t expect to break so many records.” After less than two years of training, Nour Issa can leave Cyprus knowing she has made a successful debut in competitive freediving. In the span of a week, the 25-year-old Lebanese diver set no fewer than four national records at her first world championships, which began Sept. 27 and continue through Oct. 10 off the coast of Limassol. Marc Bou Mansour matched her achievement on the men’s side, also setting four national records at the competition and capping a historic campaign for the young Lebanese delegation. More from Gabriel Will construction of the new football stadium promised to Lebanon by Infantino be postponed indefinitely? Issa was the first to shine: 40, 50, 53 ... then 60 meters, a depth she had reached only once in training. Her performances...
“I came with ambitions, but I didn’t expect to break so many records.” After less than two years of training, Nour Issa can leave Cyprus knowing she has made a successful debut in competitive freediving. In the span of a week, the 25-year-old Lebanese diver set no fewer than four national records at her first world championships, which began Sept. 27 and continue through Oct. 10 off the coast of Limassol. Marc Bou Mansour matched her achievement on the men’s side, also setting four national records at the competition and capping a historic campaign for the young Lebanese delegation. More from Gabriel Will construction of the new football stadium promised to Lebanon by Infantino be postponed indefinitely? Issa was the first to shine: 40, 50, 53 ... then 60 meters, a depth she had reached only once in training. Her...
