Croatian diver holds breath underwater for 24 minutes 33 seconds, breaks own world record

A 54-year-old man from Croatia has broken his own world record for spending the longest duration underwater while holding the breath. According to DailyMail, Budimir Buda Sobat spent nearly half an hour holding his breath beneath the water. Sobat broke his previous record by spending 24 minutes and 33 seconds underwater while holding his breath, more than double the current world record time for static apnea, a discipline in which no additional use of oxygen is allowed. 

Sobat breaks own record

Sobat had set the previous world record at 24 minutes and 11 seconds, which he broke in his latest attempt inside a swimming pool at his hometown in Sisak. Sobat, who is a bodybuilder-turned deep-sea diver, is one of the best divers in the world as per rankings of AIDA  (International Association for the Development of Apnea). The life-threatening record was constantly being monitored by experts, doctors, and officials.

Sobat has conditioned his heart in a way that pumps oxygenated blood around his body and to his brain slowly, slower than normal human beings. Sobat inhaled a lot of oxygen prior to starting his world record-breaking feat, which helped him stay longer underneath the surface of the water than a static apnea diver.

According to DailyMail, Sobat’s latest world record feat was meant for raising funds for his area in Sisak, which suffered from a devastating earthquake in December 2020. The money raised from the event will particularly go towards the development of the Room of Miracles of the Association of Persons with Disabilities in his hometown, which was destroyed in the earthquake. Sobat dedicated the record to his 20-year-old daughter, who has autism and cerebral palsy.

(Image Credit: Twitter/@blusewillis)