Diver battles illness to break his own record for longest underwater walk on one breath

A diver with lungs as strong as his determination has broken his own record by taking an underwater stroll.

Stanisław Odbieżałek (Poland) extended his longest underwater walk with one breath (male) to 120.10 m (394 ft) after previously claiming the title with a walk lasting 110.70 m (363.18 ft).

What makes it even more impressive is that Stanisław was suffering from bronchitis at the time.

He said as he prepared for his latest attempt in March: “I don't feel 100% well. But with so much preparation, I can't waste the opportunity. I think the body is strong enough to overcome this bronchial infection, and we're just going to go and do it. I have to do it."

Stanisław said he’d been training for around a year and a half, working hard to stretch his lungs so he could walk even further in one breath.

To claim this record, Stanisław had to sink down to the bottom of a swimming pool and walk as many lengths as possible while holding his breath.

The second he bobs back up above the surface to gasp for air, his attempt is over.

He said on the day: “The training was harder than it needed to be, and that was a very good thing, because it turned out that a week before setting the Guinness World Records title I got bronchitis. So, I have to do it now, in the gap when I'm not coughing. It's going to be tough, but I'll try to do it.

"I'm happy because what happened today is simply incredible. Long before the dive, I was concentrating and fighting to get the coughing to stop bothering me for a moment, to get the scratchy feeling in my throat to stop. When there was a brief pause like that and it settled, I said, ‘this is the moment’.

“I went and did it, and it even turned out there was a little margin to spare. I could have gone further, but who knows, maybe we'll improve on that next year.”

Read about more impressive feats like this in our Sports and Fitness section.

Stanisław used the same technique as the first time he claimed the record – bending at the hips so his torso was horizontal as he walked.

He crossed his hands over and held his arms out in front to decrease resistance.

And with his legs bent, he pushed with as much force as he could to propel himself forwards, using his hands to turn himself round every time he reached the wall of the pool.

Just like last time, a scuba diver was under the water with him at all times to ensure his safety and capture footage of his attempt.