On June 14, 2025, Croatian apneist Vitomir Maričić rewritten the history of sport by establishing the new Guinness World Record of Static Apnea. The athlete managed to remain under water for 29 minutes and 3 seconds, exceeding almost five minutes the previous record held by his compatriot Budimir Šobat. The company took place in an Opatija swimming pool, in front of international judges and dozens of incredulous spectators.
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To achieve this, Maričić underwent a very hard training and a scientific preparation. Before immersion, he breathed pure oxygen, a technique allowed by the Guinness regulation and used to maximize the oxygen reserves in the blood. During the test, he maintained extreme mental control, slowing down the heartbeat and contrasting the painful contractions of the diaphragm that manifest themselves after many minutes without breathing.
To make the idea of the difficulty, just remember that a normal person manages to hold back his breath for about 90 seconds. Maričić’s record is not only extraordinary in the human sphere: it is even superior to the apnea of a Tursaope dolphin, which reaches about 15 minutes, and approaches that of a common seal, capable of remaining under water for half an hour. The Croatian athlete, therefore, temporarily overcome the limits of human physiology, approaching the marine animal world.
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From the personal challenge to the environmental message
Maričić does not consider his company only a sporting result. He explained that this record also wants to be a gesture of awareness on the state of the oceans, threatened by pollution and climate change. For him to hold back his breath is also a way to remember how much our planet is suffocating because of man’s actions.
His goal enters a long tradition of record, which in the past had seen artists such as David Blaine and champions such as Aleix Segura and Goran Čolak protagonists. But the 29 minutes and 3 seconds established by Vitomir Maričić represent an impressive leap forward, destined to remain a point of reference for years. A demonstration of how discipline, science and mental strength can push the human being well beyond one’s natural limits.
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