Breath Hold Challenge on TBSSuperstation

[bobbybuttr]

I ran across this on another board. http://tbssuperstation.com/series/EpisodeFeatures/0,,10900,00.html

Airs: Wednesday, October 15 at 9:00 PM ET

Breath Hold Challenge - Mandy-Rae Cruikshank and Jessica Wilson will face off in this Ripley's Challenge to see who can hold her breath underwater the longest. They're both expert "free divers" that don't use scuba gear or air tanks. The current record is 13 minutes and 42.5 seconds set by Robert Frost in 1959.

 

[thud]

Sounds exciting, but what’s this Robert Frost record of 13:42.5 in 1959? Never heard of it.
drew

 

[jodyfreedive]

Robert Frost

I did some internet searches with various words like Robert Frost, 1959, breathold, record, world record, etc.. And the only Robert Frost I could find of that era was the poet.

 

[Observer]

Robert Frost

I think this is in reference to a record that used to be listed in Guinness for a long time before they decided to omit some of the more extreme physical feats that were most likely to get people seriously hurt or killed.

iirc, the entry said that he hyperventilated with oxygen for something like an hour before his descent, and they had a picture of him lying on the bottom of a pool with safety people around him.

Observer

 

[bobbybuttr]

It's tonight!

 

[thud]

I watched it last night. They were in a tank, feet first, on top of billboard on the Sunset Strip. Jessica did 3:45 and Mandy Rae 4:14. Not bad for the unfamiliar circumstances and pressure. They each had coaches in the tank with them and I believe it was Kirk Krack for Mandy Rae. Have no idea who’s Jessica’s was.

Although “Ripely’s Believe it or Not” is mostly a freak show, they did a nice short job explaining freediving and letting Jessica and Mandy Rae talk about the sport. All in all I would say it was good publicity.
Drew

 

[jkivi]

Jessica's safety was Martin Stepanek.

 

[Stephan Whelan]

Did anyone happen to record this? If so can they let me know so we can arrange for a copy to be sent to the DB crew.

Cheers!

 

[thud]

too late

Sorry Stephan,
You’re a few days too late. I recorded it, but now it’s Thursday Survivor’s episode. But this episode does have Roper showing the Morgan tribe how to use a Hawaiian sling.
Drew

 

[Kevin88]

I love Roper very cool guy

 

[jodyfreedive]

Roper is cool. My wife says he will never win, because he is too much of a threat. It’s amazing how he gets his plumb body down there with no weight or fins. He even lies on the bottom! They have some good underwater cameramen too. Freediving going prime time.

 

[Scuby]

Robert Foster

Guiness Book of Records entry from '78:

"The world record for voluntarily staying underwater is 13 min 42.5 sec by Robert Foster, aged 32, an electronics technician of Richmond, California, who stayed under 10 ft 3.05m of watrer in the swimming pool of the Bermuda Palms Motel at San Rafeal, California, USA, on 15 March 1959. He hyperventilated with oxygen for 30 min before his descent. The longest unprepared record is 6 min 29.8 sec by Georges Pouliquin in Paris on 3 Nov. 1912. It must be stressed that record-breaking of this kind is extremely dangerous. :naughty

Interestingly also found this from June of this year on The Mirror newspaper site (must be the mirror - proof is in the last line :t):

Jun 16 2003
A DIVER yesterday shattered a sub-aqua world record by holding his breath underwater for nearly 13 MINUTES. Italian Giancarlo Bellingrath smashed the world record by 13 seconds in a swimming pool in his home town of Naples. The previous record of 12 minutes 34 seconds had been set by fellow Italian Gianluca Genoni last April. But in yesterday's world record bid Bellingrath managed to remain underwater in the Scandone swimming pool for 12 minutes 47 seconds.

That's equal to one half-episode of The Simpsons. rofl