Czech diver breaks ice-cold Guinness World Record

Czech diver David Vencl made a vertical plunge to 52.1 meters in a single breath, in ice-cold water, without a wetsuit, breaking another record from the Guinness World Records book. The 40-year-old emerged from the depths of Switzerland’s Lake Sils on Tuesday after the record dive, beneath the ice.

The Czech diver’s record plunge follows his entry into the Guinness World Records book for swimming the length of a frozen Czech lake in 2021.

The Swiss plunge


Vencl dived through a hole in the ice and then retrieved a sticker from a depth of 50 meters to prove his feat before re-emerging through the same hole. He spat out some blood, sat down for a minute, and then opened a bottle of champagne. A later visit to the hospital confirmed there was nothing serious.

The Swiss plunge in temperatures of between 1 and 4 degrees Celsius took him 1 minute 54 seconds, his promoter Pavel Kalous said, which was a bit slower than expected.

“He kind of enjoyed it but he admits he was a little more nervous than usual and he had some problems with breathing,” he told Reuters.

“There is nothing difficult for him to be in cold water... Lack of oxygen is something normal for him. But this was completely different because it's really difficult to work with the pressure in your ears in cold water,” he added.

“If you combine all these three things: cold water, lack of oxygen and the problem with working with pressure, it's something very unique,” Kalous emphasized.

source: