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New record: Staying under water for 11min 54sec

Branko Petrovic breaks the previous freediving world record was set in 2009 by Stephane Mifsude in France at 11 minutes and 35 seconds.

Branko Petrovic celebrating after being acknowledged for the new Guinness World Record in Static Apnea. — Supplied photo

Fazza Freediving Champion Branko Petrovic has set a new Guinness World Record in ‘Static Apnea’ — remaining under water on a single breath of air.

The previous freediving world record was set in 2009 by Stephane Mifsude in France at 11 minutes and 35 seconds.

Branko Petrovic broke the record in Dubai on October 7, setting the new record at 11 minutes and 54 seconds. Upon his attempt to break his own world record three days later at The SPEARO Extreme Sports Expo and in front of a large crowd of spectators, Branko surfaced at exactly 11 minutes and 35 seconds.

The crowd reacted with shocked disbelief when on his expo attempt at Skydive Dubai he missed a new record by one second. “I tested the water earlier in the day and it was too hot, so I asked them to put some ice in the water. That was my mistake. I miscalculated that and then it was too cold,” said Petrovic.

Just when the crowd thought Petrovic had failed in his bid, Guinness World Records judge Pravin Patel announced that the freediver had already set a new world record in Dubai three days before. “The new Guinness World Record for Static Apnea (holding your breath) is 11 minutes 54 seconds set by Branko Petrovic on October 7, under the supervision of the Guinness adjudicators.”

The crowd burst into a round of applause and Branko was provided with a cheque of Dh120,000 from Mohammed Abdullah Al Khayat, CEO of KEMOS Group of Companies, which was presented by Mohammed Abdullah Al Ghurair, board member of Al Ghurair Group.

news@khaleejtimes.com