A diver has set a truly breathtaking world record for the longest time spent holding his breath underwater.
Croatian freediver Vitomir Maričić spent 29 minutes and three seconds submerged in water on a single breath.
That set the Guinness World Record for the ‘longest time breath held voluntarily underwater’, smashing the previous record by almost five minutes.
During his half-hour feat, Mr Maričić held his breath for twice the length of a bottlenose dolphin’s longest recorded dive.
In fact, that incredible achievement puts Mr Maričić on par with a harbour seal.
Harbour seals can exchange 90 per cent of the air in their lungs with one breath, compared to only 20 per cent in humans.
So, to compete with nature’s freedivers, Mr Maričić used pure oxygen to purge his blood of excess nitrogen.
He breathed pure oxygen for 10 minutes before holding his breath, bringing his blood oxygen levels to five times the normal limit.
A freediver has set a new world record for holding their breath underwater, lasting a shocking 29 minutes and three seconds on a single breath
Croatian freediver Vitomir Maričić broke the world record for the longest time spent underwater on a single breath, smashing the previous record by more than four minutes
On June 14, Mr Maričić lay down in a three-metre pool inside the Bristol Hotel in Opatija, Croatia, in front of five official judges and some 100 spectators.
Before trying to hold his breath, he used a tank of pure oxygen to undergo a process called denitrogenation.
Typically, the lungs of a healthy adult hold about 450ml of usable oxygen because oxygen only makes up about 21 per cent of the air we breathe.
Breathing pure oxygen means that the lungs can take in around three litres of oxygen with every breath, washing nitrogen out of the blood and supercharging it with oxygen.
That not only filled his red blood cells with as much oxygen as possible, but also dissolved oxygen into his blood plasma – something that cannot happen under normal circumstances.
In a medical setting, doctors might use this technique to expand an unconscious patient’s ‘safe apnea time’ – the amount of time someone can safely go without breathing.
Here, Mr Maričić used the same principle to massively enhance his ability to hold his breath.
However, even with the assistance of pure oxygen, holding your breath for half an hour is still a superhuman achievement.
Vitomir Maričić (pictured) held his breath for more than twice as long as a bottlenose dolphin by breathing pure oxygen ten minutes prior to the challenge
In most people, the safe apnea time with pure oxygen is still only eight minutes – less than a third of the time Mr Maričić went without a breath.
The previous record for an oxygen-assisted breath hold was set by fellow-Croatian Budimir Šobat, who held his breath for 24 minutes and 37 seconds.
Before that, the record had been set by the magician David Blaine, who held his breath for 17 minutes and four seconds during a live broadcast on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Going further requires intense levels of mental control and the use of techniques that slow down the body’s oxygen consumption.
Harbour seals, for example, are able to slow their heartbeats from 100 beats per minute to just 10 while underwater.
In a post on Instagram, Mr Maričić says: ‘It’s not about how much you inhale, it’s about how little you need. No panic, no thoughts, just silence. That’s how you make it to 29.’
Mr Maričić also warns that this record is not something most people should attempt to repeat.
‘This is a very advanced stunt done after years of professional training and should not be attempted without proper guidance and safety. O2 and CO2 toxicity can be lethal,’ he wrote on Instagram.
Without the use of oxygen, Mr Maričić record for holding his breath stands at 10 minutes and eight seconds. He also has the world record for longest walk under water on a single breath at 107 metres
The first record for an oxygen-assisted breath hold was set by the magician David Blaine, who held his breath for 17 minutes during a live recording of The Oprah Winfrey Show
Breathing pure oxygen can lead to a condition called oxygen toxicity, which can lead to dizziness, confusion, and convulsions.
Taking supplemental oxygen before diving also increases the risk of blacking out while underwater, since it allows more time for CO2 to build up in the bloodstream.
This can lead to carbon dioxide toxicity, which causes difficulty breathing, vomiting, and blackouts.
Mr Maričić said: ‘Do have in mind, diving with pure O2 can be dangerous and even fatal.’
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