AIDA Spotlight - Meet Ming (William Joy) Jing: An AIDA Athlete and World Record Holder
Featured in this edition of the AIDA Spotlight is Ming (William Joy) Jin, who recently made history as the first-ever freediving world record holder from China!
With an extraordinary 307m dive in Dynamic with Fins (DYN) at the 2024 AIDA Asian Pool Championship, Ming set a new world record (pending doping results), marking an incredible milestone not only for himself but also for the entire AIDA community.
Earlier this year, Ming achieved an impressive 311m dive that didn’t meet world record criteria, but this official performance now secures his place in the record books.
How long have you been freediving?
About 5 years since October 2019.
How did you discover freediving and why do you freedive?
I am an entrepreneur and I found freediving to be a stress-relieving activity at off-work times.
How does freediving help you in developing yourself in other areas of your life?
It has helped me in getting in shape! I regained my 8 packs of abs back from freediving.
It has helped me in knowing who I am.
It has helped me in strengthening my will power.
At what point did you decide to start competing and what led you to this decision?
In 2020, when I was inspired by my mentor Enzo Zhao and Matt Malina. They see things that I did not see in myself.
What is your favorite discipline and why?
Monofin for it`s the fastest discipline among all dynamics. It is indeed like FLYING in the water. I could really enjoy this feeling of flying with wings in the water at a speed of 1.3m/s.
Which discipline do you find the most challenging and why?
DNF. Because I started from 0 background of swimming. And because of the improvement of DNF, I grew in breaststroke and reached the Second Highest Level Athlete Cert of Breaststroke in China.
What freediving goals do you hope to achieve this year?
Nothing! Haha I just hope that freediving especially pool freediving can be loved by more people in the future.
What is your best tip for someone who is just starting freediving?
Don`t set goals, just love it!
Why do you love being part of AIDA?
AIDA is a worldwide organization loved by many freedivers. My first competitions started with AIDA. I would love to see AIDA grow into the next level in the years to come.
Do you do any other sports (to complement freediving, out of pure interest, or other reasons)?
Swimming, cycling on a irregular basis. I decreased amount of training in the past year and enjoyed more free time on other things I love in life.
Any fun/interesting things we should know about you?
I was born in Shanghai, grew up in Canada, went to university in the US. If you ask me about my favourite city? Shang
How can people reach you?
