Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Croatian freediver Vitomir Maričić broke the world record for longest human breath hold with a stunning 29 minutes and 3 seconds—almostfive minutes longerthan the previous record, set in 2021. Maričić's record was oxygen-assisted, meaning that he was able to breathe pure oxygen for several minutes before making his attempt. While this record doubles the maximum breath-hold of bottle nose dolphins and even rivals some seals, it still fallswayshort of many other marine mammals. The act of breathing has been central tolife on Earthsince the beginning, and the average human will take more than600millionbreathsin a single lifetime. But there's a specific group of humans—a subclass of freedivers known as apneists—who train their minds and bodies to efficiently halt this intuitive autonomic function, far exceeding the typical 30-to-90-second limit of breath-holding. Take, for instance, Croatian freediver Budimir Šobat. On March 27, 2021,Šobat held his breathunderwater for an astounding 24 minutes and 37 seconds—a feat that was only possible thanks to minutes of huffingpure oxygenbefore making the attempt. Now, four years, fellow countryman and freediver Vitomir Maričić exceeded this world record—and it wasn't even close. On June 14, 2025 in Opatija, Croatia, Maričić performed an oxygen-assisted breath hold that shattered Šobat's by nearly afull five minutes, clocking in at29 min and 3 seconds. A member of the Adriatic Freediving group, Maričić performed the attempt in a three-meter-deep pool at the town's Bristol Hotel in front of a 100-person crowd, according to the website Divernet. He says he took on this record as both a personal challenge and a way to raise awareness forocean conservation. "After the 20-minute mark, everything became easier, at least mentally," Maričićtold Divernet. He clarified, however, that the experience "got worse and worse physically, especially for my diaphragm, because of the contractions. But mentally I knew I wasn't going to give up." Denying your body life-supporting oxygen isn't something to be taken lightly. While the body has various areas that detect oxygen levels, the main system is a group of specialized cells in the brain and neck known as chemoreceptors. These cells track the balance ofcarbon dioxideand oxygen in the body. When someone holds their breath, CO2rises and drives an increased desire in the brain to breathe. Eventually, the diaphragm will begin contracting involuntarily, which is typically when untrained apneists will break down and start gulping down air. However, Maričić pre-gamed his world-record-breaking attempt by inhaling pure oxygen for 10 minutes before submersion. This offsets that initial oxygen-carbon dioxide balance, allowing freedivers to hold their breath for significantly longer than is possible for our unaidedbiology. That's why the world record for unaided breath holding is a much shorter (but still very impressive)11 minutes and 35 seconds. As ScienceAlert notes, Maričić's world-record fully doubles the maximum breath hold for bottlenose dolphins, and nearly matches the abilitiesof the harbor seal. However,humanshave zero hope of ever snatching any world record from marine mammals entirely—the Cuvier's beaked whale can stay submerged underwaterfor more than three hours. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?