CROATIA FREE DIVER SHATTERS RECORD FOR FOR HOLDING HIS BREATH 29 MINUTES UNDERWATER
Vitomir Maričić jumped into a three-meter-deep pool in Opatija, Croatia, on June 14, 2025. He immediately positioned himself at the bottom of the pool, where he stayed for an incredible 29 minutes and 3 seconds. He had officially surpassed the world record for the longest held voluntary breath by over five minutes by the time he surfaced. Humans can hold their breath for 30 to 90 seconds on average. Maričić's record is more than 20 times longer than the upper limit of that range, at little over 29 minutes. He was even able to hold his breath twice as long as a dolphin with bottlenose dolphin. However, how precisely did the Croatian freediver achieve this?
Before plunging into the pool, Maričić breathed pure, 100% oxygen for ten minutes. By using oxygen aid, a tactic approved by Guinness World Records, Maričić successfully avoided the air's normal oxygen content of only approximately 21%. In the end, this "supercharged" his blood, dissolving the oxygen in both his plasma and red blood cells. Maričić went on to say in a recent Instagram post that he started his dive with almost five times the normal amount of oxygen in his body.
However, this does not imply that Maričić did not also train physically in preparation for his effort to break the record. With the aid of cardiovascular training, which raises heart rate, respiration, and blood flow generally, Maričić achieved an amazing 10-minute and 8-second breath-holding record without oxygen support. Additionally, diaphragmatic breathing exercises expand the lungs' capacity to store oxygen. To maximise oxygen uptake into the blood, many freedivers really learn to manage their neck and diaphragm muscles to transfer stored oxygen from their lungs to their airways.
Think about the strong desire to inhale deeply and revitalizingly. The cause of that reflex is high carbon dioxide, which can only be expelled from our bodies by breathing out, not insufficient oxygen. In order to delay that instinctive reaction and prepare for these high carbon dioxide levels, freedivers frequently practice holding their breath. It might be quite difficult to resist this physical and even psychological drive.
"Everything became easier, at least mentally, around the 20-minute mark," Maričić told Divernet. The contractions made the experience physically uncomfortable and worse, especially for my diaphragm. However, I knew in my head that I would not give up.
Budimir Šobat, a Croatian freediver, set the previous world record for voluntary breath-holding on March 27, 2021, with a time of 24 minutes and 37 seconds.