He attempted the record in Sisak, Croatia, to promote the city after it was hit by a strong earthquake in December 2020. (Source: www.guinnessworldrecords.com) Holding the breath, especially underwater, can be extremely hard. But not for Croatia’s freediver Budimir Šobat who has been proven unrivalled as he broke the Guinness Book of World Records by holding his breath underwater for almost 25 minutes.
According to the Guinness website, on March 27, 2021, Šobat broke the record for the longest time breath held voluntarily (male) with a staggering time of 24 minutes 37.36 seconds, surpassing the previous record by 34 seconds.
He attempted the record in Sisak, Croatia, to promote the city after it was hit by a strong earthquake in December 2020.
“We have a huge problem here in Croatia with earthquakes… the situation is serious at the moment in Croatia,” Budimir said when applying for the record.
“We hope to raise some money for people in need because earthquakes destroyed the whole city of Petrinja,” he continued.
While the 56-year-old said it was “impossible to train” at the start of this year, due to the earthquake damage, he persevered with his training as soon as he could. The training, which spanned more than a few weeks, included perfecting his breathing technique.
“This journey is tough and full of unexpected situations where you can easily get stuck,” Šobat said.
“The greatest motivation of all is my 21 years old daughter Saša, who has autism. My results are giving me the media space and then I can speak about autism awareness.”
However, when Šobat was actually attempting the record, he was focused on one thing – his heartbeat, mentioned the record site.
“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,” he added.
For more lifestyle news, follow us: Twitter: lifestyle_ie | Facebook: IE Lifestyle | Instagram: ie_lifestyle
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
