Man holds breath underwater for more than 15 minutes

[Heracles 417]

German holds breath underwater for more than 15 minutes

Edmund Tadros

August 10, 2007 - 7:33AM

Out of breath ... Tom Sietas, 30, shows his delight as he breaks his own Guinness World Record.

Out of breath ... Tom Sietas, 30, shows his delight as he breaks his own Guinness World Record.

Photo: AP

A German man has held his breath underwater for 15 minutes and two seconds, breaking his own world record on a television show.

Tom Sietas, 30, beat his previous record by 37 seconds on the Live with Regis and Kelly television show in the US on Thursday.

His feat was helped by a pre-stunt inhalation of 20 minutes of pure oxygen and a five-hour fast, Reuters reports.

He said he quickly knew he would beat his own world record.

"After the first two minutes I felt quite confident," Sky News reported.

After the stunt he said: "I'm hungry...I think I'm going to McDonalds."

Mr Sietas has lungs that are 20 percent larger than average for his size, lung expert Dr. Marc Spero told Reuters.

Dr Spero said that Mr Sietas also manages to stay very still, which reduces the need for oxygen.

Mr Sietas has held 12 world records but only two still stand, Reuters reported.

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