New Guinness World Record - 24 minutes on hold!

On 24 February 2018, Croatian freediver Budimir Buda Šobat set a new Guinness World Record in the static competition with prior use of pure oxygen. His result of 24 min 11 sec, allowed him to beat the previous record, by only 8 seconds! The whole event in which the new record was set was organised for much deeper reasons than the desire to be the best.

A huge word of praise is due to Budimir Bud Šobat for several reasons. First of all, the new record-holder is already 52 years old, and his result surpassed the achievements of competitors who are much younger and in their prime. However, he certainly did not lack motivation and inner strength.

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The attempt was made to raise awareness among people about autism. And who better to play the role of ambassador than the father of a 17-year-old daughter who suffers from this disorder? By focusing attention on himself, Šobata wanted to show how important it is to help people affected by autism to make their lives better.

Of course, the record time spent breathing on hold underwater would not have been achievable without first breathing pure oxygen. Such a practice is not prohibited by the regulations and hence the Guinness World Record is valid. Nevertheless, Budmir’s feat must inspire great admiration, because even with the use of pure oxygen, such a result would not have been possible without proper preparation and hard training.

Despite being 52 years old, the athlete trains six times a week and is preparing for the World Championships, where he wants to fight for the best possible result. So far the Croatian’s records are 8 min 11 sec in STA and 156 metres in DNF. It is hard to believe that he started his freediving adventure only four years ago!

The previous record, set with a score of 24 min 3 sec, belonged to Spaniard Aleix Segura and was set almost exactly two years earlier on February 28, 2016, at the 17th Mediterranean Dive Show in Barcelona, which you could read about on our page.

For this special occasion, the athlete received a special Molchanovs suit from the manufacturer.

Source: dnevnik.hr Photo: Petar Glebov/PIXSELL