A diver has set a new world record after swimming 380ft under water without the aid of oxygen or flippers. New Zealander William Trubridge held his breath for four minutes and nine seconds to break the record. He carried out the daring feat at the Dean’s Blue Hole, the world’s deepest underwater sinkhole, in the Bahamas.
Wearing a specially designed silicon-coated wetsuit, Mr Trubridge, 29, used a form of breaststroke to propel him down.
During free immersion events, divers must retrieve a tag from a metal plate set at the specified depth before returning to the surface. They are not allowed to use any equipment such as fins during their ascent, but are able to use a rope to pull themselves upwards.
The previous free immersion record was set by Martin Štěpánek of the Czech Republic in the waters off Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt last year.
Freediving has become an increasingly popular extreme sport. In April last year British freediver Sara Campbell broke a female world record by diving 314ft at Dean’s Blue Hole, holding her breath for three minutes, 36 seconds, before safely returning to the surface.
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