A first-of-its-kind world record has been claimed in the Maldives for numbers of people breathing through snorkel tubes together at a single venue.
The Siyam World resort in North Dhigurah and its partner Freedive Maldives say that they had aimed for 250 participants but in the end 307 turned up for their “Snorkel World 300” event on 5 December. Resort guests joined residents from Haa Dhaalu, Noonu and Baa Atoll to hang under water simultaneously for a minute.
The record was said by the resort to have been confirmed on the day by official Guinness World Record (GWR) adjudicators with, surprisingly in view of the eventual numbers, all participants receiving commemorative medals.
“The tourists were very happy with the event,” said Freedive Maldives instructor Fahd Faiz. “They would not have known that they would be taking part in a record-setting event while on holiday.”
GWR lists 623 people as the most snorkelling simultaneously at multiple venues, also in the Maldives, a record achieved in Baa Atoll on 18 October.
Freedive Maldives
Freedive Maldives was established in 2015 by Faiz, the country’s first PADI-certified freediving instructor, as the first locally owned freediving centre in the Maldives. It offers courses across the Maldives for both locals and visitors.
The school has organised simultaneous freediving world record attempts in the past: Neyvaa 1 on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism in 2019 and its own Neyvaa 2 in 2022. Neyvaa means ‘breath’ in the local Dhivehi language.
In the first Neyvaa event a total of 521 individuals participated off Baros, including the Maldives’ then-president, ministers and well-known freediver William Trubridge. The world record was recognised by GWR.
Neyvaa 2, part of a 50-year tourism anniversary celebration in the Maldives, attracted 455 people holding their breath under water for 1min, 30sec across 12 locations, again under GWR adjudication for “the most people performing static apnea simultaneously”.
