Allison Penovich: New Spearfishing World Record Set by 17 Year Old, Likely Youngest Female Spearfishing World Record Holder

Online, September 25, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Evolve Freediving along with Allison's father, Joe Penovich, are proud to announce that Alli Penovich of Cocoa Beach, FL set a new spearfishing world record in the women's speargun division while freediving on just one breath of air, harvesting an 11.4 pound (5.2 kg) northern red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus. The record was witnessed by her father, brother, Daniel Penovich, grandfather, Frank Penovich and family friend, Zack Spurlock.

On August, 23, 2013 17 year old, Alli Penovich, went out for a spearfishing trip on her father's 41 foot Tempest. The affectionate group of spearos anchored about 15 miles north of Port Canaveral. Alli, Joe and Zack hit the water first leaving the other two behind in the Tempest for safety. Alli breathed up and swam straight to the bottom in 58 feet of water to wait for a world record to swim by. At 3:15 p.m., armed with her Daryl Wong speargun rigged with a reel, Alli waited patiently until a school of red snapper presented itself. She picked out the biggest one and took her shot. It proved to be big enough for a new world record at 11.45 lbs with a girth of 20 inches, forklength of 25 inches and overall length of 27 inches.

The action didn't stop that day with landing the record red snapper. Alli had to land the fish amongst a hungry 7 foot bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas. The shark darted towards Alli and her catch, threatening her new prize. The bull shark decided not to hit Alli's snapper and was deterred from a return visit by Alli's primary safety, her father Joe. Swimming back to the surface close together for safety the father, daughter team emerged and took time for their requisite recovery breaths, diminishing their chances of a blackout. Joe stood by, watching for sharks and proudly taking video of Alli as she finished bringing the fish in, her first world record victory. Joe reports of that day, "World Records are nice but they pale in comparison to watching my daughter becoming so comfortable in the water, in all situations, whether going deep or dealing with sharks. To share this love for freediving and spearfishing is a rare thing to have between a father and daughter. I am so blessed, but trumping all of this by far is the good decisions Alli is making out of the water in how she lives her life. I could not be prouder as a father!"

As the International Underwater Spearfishing Association (IUSA) does not keep track of the ages of world record setters it is not clear whether or not Alli qualifies for another accolade as the youngest female spearfishing world record holder in history. It is possible that at 17 years of age, she is the youngest female ever to shoot a world record sized fish. Not only is Alli a young, record setting, history making spearo with undoubtedly latent talents yet to be tapped into, she is also unassuming, smart, a track and field athlete at Cocoa Beach High School, and a true witness for the Lord. It is clear who gets the credit for Alli's success when she says, "I feel blessed to have had my dad, brother and grandpa there to witness my catch and I thank God for keeping me safe and giving me the opportunity to get a world record snapper."

Allie is not only a blessed freediving hunter but she exemplifies the spirit of a true competitive freediver as well by having dove to a depth of 132 feet (40 meters) during her first ever Performance Freediving International (PFI) freediving course taught by Evolve Freediving at Dean's Blue Hole this past January. She continued to explore the depths by training and accomplishing a depth of 164 feet (50 meters) in just four more days. It is obvious that Alli will claim success no matter what field of freediving or spearfishing she chooses to pursue. As she plans on applying for college this year to San Diego State University the spearfishing world will open up for her on the West coast with the elusive white sea bass, Atractoscion nobilis. An exciting prospect.

Freediving is the art and sport of diving underwater on one breath of air, unassisted by any artificial breathing apparatus as in scuba diving. Athletes compete to dive the deepest underwater, furthest in the pool and hold their breath the longest. Freediving is also used as a means of diving for spearfishing or harvesting fish, as Alli did, with elastic band powered spearguns, Hawaiian slings, pole spears or another method.

The IUSA was formed in 1950 to promote spearfishing and to assist in scientific and spearfishing competitive efforts. As part of this task, the IUSA became the certifying body and custodian of the spearfishing world records. The IUSA has certified several hundred records for a variety of fish from large bluewater species to smaller fish. Through several decades of existence, the IUSA has seen diver's skill and technology change from the Hawaiian slings of the Pinder Brothers to the high-tech equipment and super-powered spearguns of today's freedivers.

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Ashley Futral Chapman