World record in freediving in a cave

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The Venezuelan was equipped only with a mask, a monoplane and a torch when breaking the record. The 34-year-old broke the record by swimming between two water entrances in Dos Ojos, a gigantic cave complex stretching over 61km on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
Throughout the event, the freediver was filmed by British underwater photographer Dan Burton. Originally from Caracas, Carlos is a pioneer in the field of freediving practiced inside caves. The attempt he made was very dangerous and if something had gone wrong the diver might not have come out of the cave again. As the freediver himself said, even though he has been doing competitive sport for 12 years, the last achievement was the most exciting experience for him.

When asked after setting the record, Carlos talked about his achievements:
“This achievement is somewhat of a dream come true for me. I have been interested in speleology since I was a little boy and the fact that I have been able to combine this interest with my freediever profession is something amazing.”
“I was not afraid. We had been planning this for a long time and I was fully prepared for what I was about to do.”
“If something went wrong, there were belay divers underwater.”
“They had no spare air for me. In the event of an emergency, they were simply tasked with getting me to the surface as quickly as possible.”
Coste, who can hold his breath for up to 7 minutes, completed the test in just 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

See the video of the record breaking on the second page.

A rope was stretched between the dive and the emergence point, showing the way in the cave at all times. Because of the prevailing darkness, the diver had to hold a lit torch in one hand at all times, which made swimming even more difficult.
“Breath-hold diving is not about speed. You have to find a balance between many factors.”
“Using a mono fin you can achieve top speeds, but when swimming you don’t want to be frantically waving it all the way around all the time.”
“Inertia and buoyancy are very important factors when swimming. Another essential skill is technique mastered to perfection. Two kicks with the fins and glide, two kicks, glide… All the time you have to remember to keep the best possible silhouette to reduce hydrodynamic resistance.”
“Swimming feels like you’re flying in Superman position with your arms stretched forward.”
“The adrenaline gives you a huge kick all the time. It feels amazing being part of projects like this.”

His wife and manager Gabriele Contreras took three years to prepare for the extreme event, which was meticulously planned by his wife. The couple chose a suitable tunnel a year ago and since then, basic training for the record-breaking run has been underway.

“‘The Guinness record so far was 75m and that’s the figure I had to beat to become a record holder. I have doubled that distance so I hope to be in the Guinness Book of Records soon.’

In 2003, Carlos Coste became the first person to reach a depth of 100 metres without the use of instruments, but only by pulling himself down and then back up again using a rope (Free Immersion).