Longest time breath held voluntarily underwater (male)
Who
Budimir Šobat
What
24:37.36 minute(s):second(s)
Where
Croatia (Sisak)
When

The longest time breath held voluntarily (male) is 24 min 37.36 sec, achieved by Budimir Šobat (Croatia), in Sisak, Croatia, on 27 March 2021.

The 56-year-old surpassed the previous record by 34 seconds.

Budimir, who only started freediving when he was 48, trained six days per week for three years in order to prepare himself for this record attempt.

He was inspired by his daughter Saša, who has autism. In addition to raising awareness about autism, Budimir undertook this challenge to promote the city of Sisak, which was hit by a strong earthquake in December 2020.

Before the attempt, Budimir hyperventilated with pure oxygen - the rules for this record allow this for up to 30 minutes before the record attempt starts.

With a support team around him throughout, he submerged his face into a swimming pool while floating on the surface.

After successfully achieving the record, he said: "While I am doing my maximum static apnea I have my eyes closed and all I am focused on is to try to hear my heartbeat. Once I heard it I became calm and ready to fight the time.

"I am addicted to training of any kind so I have no problem with motivation and I never stop dreaming about achieving the top results in spite of my age. Now I have proved that everything is possible if you are strong and dedicated.

"In fact, my age gave me a benefit of experience to stay calm at the critical moments.

"Of course, you have to be a little bit mad."

The female equivalent of the record is held by Karoline Meyer (Brazil), who achieved a time of 18 min 32.59 sec in 2009.

Read more about Budimir's breathtaking record attempt: