Estrella Navarro Holm
She has been a water baby all her life and after only 3 months of freediving she broke her first national record for Mexico! Since then she has added another 15 national records across all pool and depth disciplines as well as a bronze medal at last years World depth championships in CNF.
She is a model and a marine biologist who specializes in shark biology and ecology. She is involved with media outreach work to foster marine conservation, including television and documentary collaborations with the BBC and the Travel Channel.
Nature is one of her passions, when she was 4 years old, she decided to be a biologist; she loved to spend time observing animals and their behavior. At the age of 22 she got the Marine Biologist degree; her research was about the Whale Shark. She developed a forensic method based in Genetics that can be useful to identify the whale sharks in illegal markets and to support the species conservation. She presented her research in the 2nd International Whale Shark Conference; she has been expositor of diverse Marine Biology topics in conferences and in science divulgation events.
In 2013 she did with the University of British Columbia a research about the Economics between the Fishing and Touristic industries of sharks in the world; it was published in "Oryx, The Cambridge Magazine of Conservation" , the results of this research are being useful to preserve the sharks; tourism generates more than 300 million USD per year, in 20 years will be more than 700 million USD.
At the age of fifteen she started her fashion modeling career, Estrella has participated in fashion files, in Mexican and International magazines and Covers; she was Miss Baja California Sur 2008 and 6th place in Miss Mexico. Estrella is a TV presenter; she collaborated in the BBC “Last Chance to See” series. She made the educational videos and advertising for PADI for the new Scuba and Free-Divers in the world.
In 2010 Free Diving trainer Aharon Solomons invited her to be part of this sport. 3 months after, she broke her first national record, was the first Mexican female who conquered depth without fins, without mask, breast swimming style completely free of instruments. This time, she accomplished 30 meters depth (100 feet). Six months later, she went deeper and broke 4 more records, Estrella accomplished 40 meters (130 feet) in the same category; 50 meters (164 feet) with a monofin; in the pool, she swam 100 meters (328 feet) in one breath without fins and 128 (420 feet) with the monofin. In July 2011, she broke her marks again getting into 45 meters depth (148 feet) without fins, becoming one of the best Free Divers in the world in this category. Additionally, she went down 48 meters (157 feet) Free Immersion and 55 meters (180 feet) with the monofin. Again, two months later, Estrella broke her records in the “AIDA Individual Depth World Championship 2011”; she went down 50 meters (164 feet) free immersion and 57 meters (187 feet) with the monofin.
At this time she achieved all the depth Mexican records and broke 10 marks in only one year ahead of her Diving career.
In 2012 in the world championships in France she broke again the national records going to 58 meters in CWT and holding her breath for 5´25´´ holding all the national records in pool and depth disciplines.
She won the Bronze Medal in the “AIDA Individual Depth World Championship 2013”. She is the first Mexican who wins a Medal in a World Championship and the First Latin-American who wins a Medal in the Worlds in the Category "Constant Weight No Fins" CNF, Estrella dived 50 meters (164 feet) depth in breast style. Additionally she broke the national record in CWT using a monofin; she went 60 meters depth (197 feet).
In 2014, in the Vertical Blue International competition in the Bahamas she broke again the national records in FIM going to 55 meters (180 feet) and in CWT to 65 meters (213 feet) and she won again the bronze medal in CNF.
