A new absolute world record for longest underwater walk on one breath has been set by Australian freediver Amber Bourke. She walked 112.83m, further than the longest Premier League football pitch, and her feat last August has just been officially verified by Guinness World Records (GWR).
“I am a freediving instructor and have been freediving for over 10 years,” said Bourke, who is 35 and from Queensland. “I wanted to do this both for my own sense of achievement – it has always been a dream of mine to hold a Guinness World Records title – and also to raise money for the Australian Marine Conservation Society in the process.”
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This highly specialised form of dynamic apnea involves moving along the bottom of a pool bent forward by 90° at the hips so that the torso is flat, as when swimming, but with the legs and feet taking the strain. A video gives an idea of the expenditure of energy involved.
Bourke, who was carrying 9kg of weights, stumbled at times on the first length but made it to the end of the 50m Olympic pool, where she had to tap a hand and foot against the wall before turning for the second length. She then turned again for the last 12.83m, surfacing only after passing the men’s record markers.
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The previous female record of 109.6m set by South African freediver Amber Fillary had stood since November 2021, and that had been a giant stride forward from the 81.6m record set by Bilge Cingigiray of Türkiye in 2019.
The male record was set at 107m in September 2021 by Croatian freediver Vitomir Maričić. Last June another Croatian, Boris Milošić, claimed a 112m record, although it is Maričić’s mark that still stands on the GWR website.
Amber Bourke has previously set 17 AIDA national and one world freediving record, and is currently Australian number one in Dynamic Apnea without fins and Constant Weight with no fins, monofin and bi-fins, and in the top five in all the remaining freediving disciplines.
Also on Divernet: Freediver claims world record for 112m walk, Freediver goes for an epic walk, Underwater freewalker Boris Milosic claims world record, Breath-hold world record by Bilge Clingigiray
