Thanks to a new technique that allows you to increase oxygen in the blood, you can stay in apnea for more than 29 minutes.
On June 14, 2025, Croatian freediver Vitomir Maričić set a new world record in Opatija (Croatia), freediving for 29 minutes and 3 seconds. The limit exceeds the record of Croatian diver Budimir Šobat, set in March 2021, by almost 5 minutes. To prepare for the feat, Maričić breathed pure oxygen for 10 minutes, thus increasing the level of oxygen in his blood and reducing the accumulation of carbon dioxide. This technique allows you to sustain the lack of oxygen for longer.
CONTRACTIONS. During apnea, in fact, the brain perceives the lack of oxygen and excess CO2, causing involuntary contractions of the diaphragm that push you to breathe. Learning to manage these signals, combined with experience and constant training, allows freedivers to extend their biological limits.
The “unassisted” freediving record remains much lower: 11 minutes and 35 seconds, set by Frenchman Stéphane Mifsud on June 8, 2009 in La Crau, Côte d’Azur, France.
