Call Him Breathless

New Zealand freediver William Trubridge, 29, has set the world record for the longest dive without using fins by plunging 116m into world’s deepest underwater sinkhole, in the Bahamas. Trubridge battled nitrogen narcosis as he held his breath for four minutes and nine seconds to break the record for the deepest free immersion dive at Dean’s Blue Hole. Wearing a specially designed silicon-coated wetsuit, Trubridge used a form of breaststroke to propel himself down to without the aid of oxygen. “It was hard to get the tag from the bottom as I struggled with some narcosis,” Trubridge said afterwards. “But it’s great to have the free immersion record again.” It was Trubridge’s 10th world record, and puts him in first place for the competition to find the world’s best all-round freediver. Trubridge trains in Italy in the summer and Dean’s Blue Hole in the winter.