Renowned Croatian freediver Vitomir Maričić took a deep breath of pure oxygen and submerged himself in a hotel pool in Opatija. Holding his breath, he remained underwater for 29 minutes and 3 seconds. Maričić’s achievement has been officially recognized as a world record, as reported by Science Alert.
According to the , this longest breath-holding feat exceeds the previous world record by 5 minutes.
For comparison, the average person can hold their breath for about 30 to 90 seconds.
What else is known about this record?
Nearly half an hour without air—now that’s impressive! can hold their breath for only half that time. With such “superhuman” endurance, Maričić could even compete with seals.
In a single breath, a seal can replace 90 percent of the air in its lungs, while the average person can only manage about 20 percent. To improve this figure, one must take more breaths, filling the lungs with fresh air.
Before setting his record, Maričić inhaled pure oxygen from a tank for 10 minutes to maximize his body’s oxygen levels. In an Instagram video, the freediver explained that before breaking the record, he had nearly five times more oxygen in his system than usual. Without this, he wouldn’t have been able to hold his breath for so long.
However, even under normal conditions, capabilities of the Croatian athlete are impressive: he can hold his breath for 10 minutes and 8 seconds. Meanwhile, the record for breath-holding without supplemental oxygen is held by Serbian Branko Petrović, with a time of 11 minutes and 35 seconds.
According to the official Guinness World Records website, Maričić aimed to set this record to draw attention to the issue of ocean conservation.
