David Blaine breaks world record for holding one's breath!

CHICAGO - David Blaine set a new world record Wednesday for breath-holding — 17 minutes and 4 seconds — fulfilling what he said was "a lifelong dream.

The feat was broadcast live during "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and the studio audience cheered as divers pulled the 35-year-old magician from a water-filled sphere 8 feet in diameter. Less than two years ago, Blaine went into convulsions during a similar attempt.

"A lifelong dream," a relaxed-looking Blaine told Winfrey immediately after setting the record. "I can't believe that I did that."

The previous record was 16 minutes and 32 seconds, set Feb. 10 by Switzerland's Peter Colat, according to Guinness World Records.

Before he entered the sphere, Blaine inhaled pure oxygen through a mask to saturate his blood with oxygen and flush out carbon dioxide. Guinness says up to 30 minutes of so-called "oxygen hyperventilation" is allowed under its guidelines.

news.yahoo.com...

David Blaine has to one of the hardest magicans. Now he has been discussed plenty of time here on ATS. Is the general consensus is the real deal or a fake? Well the Guinness Worlds Records IS the real deal. So I guess he did hold his breathe for 17mins

He obviously put a lot of training into this 'stunt'.

Blaine has never been one to go into something without preparation. Good on him for taking the record.

There are some on these forums that will most likely hijack this thread and make claims that he is some sort of higher being / shaman / spiritualist. He is simply today's equivalent to Houdini.

it's awesome he broke the record. i do not think endurance "magic" is fake...people dedicate their lives until they master whatever goal or task. if i didn't have to work all the time to afford to eat every week, i could train hours every day to push my body's limit too. who wants to pay me weekly to become a ninjutsu master?