World record for being underwater without air. Maximum breath holding underwater

New world was established this year, 2018, by Croatian Budimir Shobat. It was: 24 minutes and 11 seconds. An incredible record time for us, ordinary people, who can hardly stop breathing even for a minute. His achievement is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Note that the discipline in which the athlete performed is called static apnea. In this form, there is no need to dive to depth, it is enough to keep your face under water and, of course, not breathe :). The previous record, set in 2016 by Alex Segura, was broken by Budimir by just 8 seconds. I think he is very sad about this. For reference, such high results would not have been achieved if it were not for the hyperventilation of the athlete’s lungs with 100% oxygen allowed before the start of the test. However, such records are the result of a tremendous amount of work done over many years. Self-control, relaxation, endurance, calmness, physical training, meditation and much more.

Unfortunately, there is no video of Shobat setting the record, but we can see how the previous record holder set it.

How the new world record for holding breath underwater was set in 2016

A little about the physiology of the breathing process itself so that you can achieve good results.

First of all, you need to remember that when diving under water, a huge amount of oxygen is burned by the muscles, resulting in hypoxia, with all the ensuing consequences: loss of consciousness, convulsions and much more. Also, do not forget that water pressure affects the human body both as a whole and on individual organs, blood vessels and even cells. Interesting fact: as soon as a person immerses his face in water, the heart immediately slows down, starting to save oxygen.

We should also not forget that the human central nervous system constantly commands what each organ should do and, by sending a signal to the lungs to take a breath, at critical levels of carbon dioxide, an experienced diver must fully control this process. If you watch the video in this article, we will notice that the athlete is always near his assistant, who monitors the well-being of the diver, how long he can hold out and whether he is even conscious.

Saving the child, the doctor transplanted his gills. This is how an amphibian man appeared in Belyaev’s story - the idol of freedivers. He could easily give a pearl, look for pirate treasures, admire jellyfish and starfish to his heart's content. How much oxygen is enough for an ordinary person under water?

If diving occurs with equipment, then freediving is diving under water without snorkels, scuba gear and other tinsel. The “free” bit here emphasizes human freedom, because swimming is almost like flying. Onlookers from the shore gasp in awe as they see how long a freediver can stay underwater. The trick is that those involved in this extreme sport use their own mechanism resources, improve breathing techniques and self-control. Freediving is a whole philosophy, akin to yoga or Buddhism: in order to contemplate the underwater world for a long time, you need to renounce vanity and be in harmony with yourself.

Swimmers dive into the water for various purposes: to plunge into the beauty and romance of the underwater world, to conduct research, to make money on valuables lost by someone, or to test their strength. Freediver athletes help to find the limits of the human body; they are the ones who most often make records in freediving.

The largest number of freediving records (41) was set by a native of Ufa, Natalya Molchanova. She became the first representative of the fair sex to dive to a depth of 100 m and the first to hold her breath under water for more than 9 minutes. Natalya Vadimovna became seriously interested in this sport at the age of 40. She became a world champion, President of the Russian Freediving Association, setting records in all 6 areas. Natalya taught freediving to young athletes, was the author of textbooks, and made films. Following in his mother’s footsteps was his son Alexey, who also holds records for diving with fins and in length.

Freediving: recordsin numbers

Maximum breath holding time under water (static apnea):

11 minutes 35 seconds – Stefan Mifsud;

9 minutes 02 seconds – Natalya Molchanova.

Long swimming underwater while holding your breath without fins (dynamics):

218 meters – David Mullins;
182 meters – Natalya Molchanova.

Dynamics in a monofin or two fins:

281 meters – Goran Golak;
234 meters – Natalya Molchanova.

Freediving competitions are held not only in the pool, but also in the open sea. Natalya Molchanova's record for deep diving without the use of a cable and fins was 69 meters; among men, the championship belongs to New Zealander William Trubidge, who dived to 101 meters.

With all the romance of freediving, it is worth remembering that this is an extreme sport, a game on the edge of life and death. When diving, stay with your partner. Natalya Vadimovna always taught this, but the champion once neglected her advice. The tragedy occurred in August last year off the Spanish island of Ibiza, where Natalya was diving with friends, and then became separated from them and went missing. It is believed that the culprit was a deep-sea current.

Holding your breath for a while is often used in freediving and has a whole series of rules that must be followed in order to stay underwater for as long as possible. This sport is very difficult, it requires constant training and complete dedication, so very few people practice it. World record for holding breath underwater will impress anyone, we decided to put together a list of the top 10 record holders who feel at home in the depths.

10. Stefan Mifsud

The list opens with a Frenchman who methodically practiced diving and tried to achieve success in this. Even if his indicator is not so significant - 11 minutes 35 seconds, but he came to it on his own. Meanwhile, in 2001, the 8 minutes 4 seconds achieved by a Czech named Martin Stepanek was still considered incredible, but time passes, and the limits of human capabilities expand every year.

9. Robert Foster

But history remembers that back in 1959 there was someone who set an unattainable bar for everyone for many decades. An ordinary technician from America, thanks to his excellent health and good training, reached 13 minutes 40 seconds, surprising not only his family and friends, but the entire sports community of the world.

8. Arvydas Gaiciunas

The world record for holding breath in 2007 did not belong to the athlete. 15 minutes 57 seconds - this is exactly how much a Lithuanian illusionist spent in a large glass flask, who diligently tried to improve his skills in magic tricks and stunts. Many sports fans looked at him with outright envy, but what is important is that Arvydas was not alone. Besides him, there was also his sister, who surfaced at the 13th minute.

7. David Blaine

One of the most famous magicians who eventually became a media personality, David Blaine in 2008 set himself the goal of learning to freedive and in 4 months reached 17 minutes without oxygen underwater. His tricks are considered one of the most dangerous, which is why more than one documentary film has been made about David.

6. Nicolo Putignano

What is the world record for holding your breath without diligent work and regular exercise? The Italian liked to talk about this for a long time, whose stopwatch showed 19 minutes and 3 seconds. He described to journalists with passion and pride the two years he spent trying to become the best. But they soon managed to overcome him.

5. Peter Kolat

While diving professionally, the athlete from Switzerland did not miss a single competition and still achieved his goal. In 2010, his timer read 19 minutes and 20 seconds, making him an instant champion.

4. Ricardo Bahie

The Brazilian first set a world record for holding his breath on land, and then proved that he could handle it in water. He got into the Guinness Book of Records having tasted the laurels of the best and was not at all ready to give them up so soon to some German.

3. Thomas Siesta

From a young age, Thomas was freediving, and his efforts were rewarded. The German broke Bahier's record, managing to stay at a depth of just 1 second more. In Germany, he became a national hero, and interviews with him about how to train and eat in order to achieve this were shown on television for a long time.

2. Goran Kolak

The ambitious Croatian has many awards to his name and is ready to continue improving for new achievements. He is already a nine-time gold winner at world-class competitions and his best time is 22 and a half minutes. Now the Croatian is already over thirty years old, but he plans to continue to amaze.

1. Alex Segura

The world record for holding breath underwater is 24 minutes 3 seconds and it belongs to a Spaniard, who set it in 2016.

Scientists have long established that the human body can do without food from fifty to seventy days, and without water you can live up to ten days. But the most important thing for maintaining life is the need for breathing. Without oxygen, the body can only survive for a few minutes.

Recently, it has become a popular trend to set various records and achievements in many fields of activity. Testing the capabilities of the human body is no exception. Divers and athletes compete with each other, trying to break the world record for holding breath. Everyone understands that an unprepared person cannot live without air for long. Therefore, despite the breath-holding record that was set, the champion had to train for a very long time before this.

Body capabilities

Under normal conditions, a simple adult is able to hold his breath for forty to sixty seconds. It's no secret that this ability is individual, and through training you can achieve more effective and lasting results.

World achievement

The Guinness World Record for holding your breath is held by a German freediver named Tom Sytas. This man survived underwater without air for twenty-two minutes and twenty-two seconds.

The previous world record for holding one's breath was set by Ricardo Baja, who did not breathe for twenty minutes and twenty-one seconds. New champion Tom Sitas stopped eating five hours before the competition to slow down his body's metabolic processes, and immediately before the dive he breathed pure oxygen. It should also be taken into account that the world record for holding one’s breath helped him set a large lung capacity, which is twenty percent more than that of an ordinary person.

Inexplicable but the fact

Few people know that in 1991, a seventy-year-old Indian named Ravindra Mishra, in the presence of observers, specialists, and a group of scientists, was able to stay under water for six days. All this time, under the supervision of a special device, the man meditated. Dr. Raksh Kafadi carefully watched to ensure that the guru did not come to the surface to catch his breath or use other tricks to deceive the many observers. At the end of the allotted time, Mishra surfaced in sound spirit and mind. Researchers confirmed that the man spent one hundred forty-four hours, sixteen minutes and twenty-two seconds underwater. All this time he sat in the lotus position at a depth of nineteen meters. Experts believe that Mishra immersed his body in a special state of meditation, when the vital activity of all organs was reduced to the maximum. Using this method, the man avoided the phenomenon of oxygen deficiency. Mishra himself stated that an ancient goddess allegedly helped him to sit under water for such a long time, in whose honor he set this record.

Phenomenal immersion

In the same year, a resident of the Philippines named Jorge Paquino, a simple fisherman, stayed under water for one hour and five minutes. The depth of the dive was sixty meters. There were no special devices or scuba gear that would allow breathing underwater. This was witnessed by cameramen filming the dive. Physiologists are unable to explain the process that made an ordinary fisherman from the city of Ampari a famous person.

Dangers

Meanwhile, long-term breath holding and apnea training techniques are quite likely to cause detrimental consequences for the health of the body. Hyperventilation can directly contribute to loss of consciousness. And the method of buccal pumping, during which breathing involves air previously drawn into the mouth, can even lead to rupture of the lungs. In this regard, any freediver must follow safety precautions. All training should be carried out only in a group and under supervision, even if the depth of the dive seems shallow.

Holding your breath underwater for a while is a discipline in freediving. Its name sounds like “static apnea,” and it is carried out for a while in a relaxed state of the body. Due to the complexity of this sport, as you understand, there are not many record holders. But besides athletes, people of another profession practice holding their breath under water. We will tell you about both of them in our top. So, 10 record-breaking breath holds underwater!
1

This athlete is a freediving legend. He became a champion in all disciplines, including apnea. His current world record is 22 minutes 30 seconds, and no one has been able to beat it for more than 2 years. Goran has been involved in this sport since 2006 and has 9 gold medals and 6 world records. The athlete is only 32 years old, and he plans to break his own record.

2

In 2012, the German athlete spent 22 minutes 22 seconds underwater in pursuit of the record. The media (mainly, of course, German) raised a storm around this event, and information about the athlete’s training, diet, and family began to be discussed literally on every corner. And Thomas, although a great guy, broke the previous record by only 1 second!

3

The Brazilian freediver, as you read above, was beaten by only 1 second, and there is almost no information about his record of 22 minutes 21 seconds. Not fair! But, nevertheless, Ricardo himself, after setting the record, admitted that he was at the limit of his strength. He beat the previous record by 3 minutes, and this is already a serious achievement.

4

In 2010, the Swiss set a new, at that time, record for static apnea - he managed to sit under water without oxygen for 19 minutes 21 seconds. Peter trained for two years and became a record holder more than once, but before that he had not been included in the Book of Records.

6

This is a famous person. Blaine is an illusionist and showman with a worldwide reputation. And in 2014, after 4 months of training using a special system, he set a world record for holding his breath under water: 17 minutes 4 seconds. It is worth saying that Blaine demonstrated stronger “tricks”. He was buried alive, he “levitated”, disappeared, burned, etc. And there are already plenty of documentaries about him. If anyone is interested, take a look, the guy is really great.

7

The Lithuanian is also not a diver, he is also an illusionist. And in 2007, after preparation, he set a record. Arvydas was chained to a metal frame lowered into the water, and remained in this state for 15 minutes 58 seconds, which became a new record. Many professional athletes literally showered the illusionist with praise and congratulations, because being chained underwater is a powerful stress for the body, and it is very difficult to cope with it without consuming oxygen. And along with the illusionist, his sister Diana also passed the test. She lasted 13 minutes.

8 Robert Foster (USA)
Further - more interesting. Foster is not an illusionist or an athlete, he is an electronics technician! And this was back in 1959! But even today his result stuns many pros: 13 minutes 42.5 seconds. He, of course, prepared and, of course, had unique health, but! He is not a professional athlete, and this fact alone cannot but surprise. Today's record holders and champions were mostly inspired by his example.

9

Among the athletes there was another successful champion in this type of competition. Stefan Mifsud set the apnea time at 11 minutes 35 seconds in 2009. The record did not last long, of course, and it was not a true record (especially after the American technician). But nevertheless, the time was recorded, and the Frenchman remained in the history of this sport as the record holder.

10

In 2001, inspired by Japanese divers, the Czech Stepanek set a new world record at that time, staying under water for 8 minutes 6 seconds. Of course, in comparison with the previous people on our list, this is not so impressive, but still 8 minutes 14 years ago was a super achievement!
The limit of human capabilities is an eternal theme of all scientists. When and who will achieve it is a very interesting question. And if no one ever, apparently, people will not be surprised, because every year they get tired of surprising themselves.