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How long do you think you can hold your breath? One minute? Two? Croatian freediver Vitomir Maricic just set a new Guinness world record by holding his breath underwater for almost 30 minutes. Seriously.
Maricic set the new mark of 29 minutes and three seconds while holding his breath in a three-meter deep pool of water as five judges and 100 spectators watched inside the Bristol Hotel in Opatija, Croatia. He obliterated the previous world record of 24 minutes and 37 seconds which had been set by another Croatian, Budimir Sobat.
Making Vitomir Maricic’s achievement no less spectacular, but slightly more understandable, is the fact that he prepared for his world record attempt at holding his breath by undergoing a process known as denitrogenation. Denitrogenation involves breathing pure oxygen for several minutes, in his case, 10 minutes. In doing so, he was able to raise his blood oxygen levels to five times their normal range.
Maricic, a member of the Adriatic Freediving group, said he performed the record-breaking stunt as a way to raise awareness for ocean conservation, and as a personal challenge. “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.
“It’s not about how much you inhale, it’s about how little you need,” said Maricac. “No panic, no thoughts, just silence. That’s how you make it to 29.”
Some other numbers that put Vitomir Maricic’s into perspective include 11 minutes and 35 seconds: the world record for holding your breath unaided; 14 minutes: the maximum breath hold duration registered for a tagged offshore bottlenose dolphin; 30 minutes: the maximum amount of time harbor seals can typically hold their breath underwater; 222 minutes: the record for diving mammals holding their breath, held by a Cuvier’s beaked whale.
Prior to Budimir Sobat, the world record for holding one’s breath was held by magician David Blaine who famously performed his feat live on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2008.