Free diver breaks world record by holding his breath underwater 22:22 minutes !

Richard Hartley-Parkinson -

A German 'free diver' has apparently entered the Guinness World Records by holding his breath under water for more than 20 minutes.

Tom Sietas, 35, competed with former record holder, Brazilian Ricardo Bahia, to set the new record by not inhaling for 22:22 minutes.

The extraordinary feat is thought to have been completed in China in a pair of tanks next to one another over the weekend.

Bahia's previous record was 20:21 minutes. Pictures have emerged from earlier in the competition when Sietas achieved a time of 18:16 minutes.

To help competitors with the task when they were first plunged into the water it was 5°C but as the challenge continued that rose to just shy of 40°C.

Sietas has broken his own records on multiple occasions for the event, officially known as static apnea, since he first started doing it in 2000.

But he has also earned several records for 'dynamic apnea' - swimming as far as possible under water without breathing.

Sietas has said in the past that he does not eat for five hours before carrying out the stunts to slow his metabolism.

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