Second Neyvaa dive event sets new world record for Maldives
This is the first time so many people held their breaths underwater in a freedive, at the same time, anywhere in the world.
By
Aman Haleem
The Maldives has set a new freediving record on Saturday with the largest number of people holding their breath underwater at the same time.
More than 455 people took part in this event organised by Freedive Maldives (freedivemv) to celebrate the golden jubilee of the country’s tourism industry. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed also took part in the event.
The record-breaking event, titled Neyvaa 2', was held in 12 resorts simultaneously. A total of 140 people took part from Crossroads Maldives alone. The President and First Lady joined the event from Crossroads.
Judges from the Guinness Book of World Records observed the event.
Freediving, also known as apnea, consists of submerging underwater without the assistance of an external air source. The participants of yesterday’s event held their breath underwater for two minutes, in static apnea. This is the first time so many people held their breaths underwater in a freedive, at the same time, anywhere in the world.
A total of 459 people took part in 'Neyvaa 2'. However, four of the participants were not included in the record since they came up for air before the set 1 minute and 30 seconds were up.
This is not the first time Maldives has gone up in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The first Neyvaa event held marking World Tourism Day on 1 October 2019 saw 521 freedivers diving together simultaneously. The event was participated by President Solih, cabinet ministers, parliament members and world champion freedivers William Trubridge and Jonathan Chong. This was the first Maldivian sports record in the Guinness Book.
