William Trubridge: Freediver sets new world record | CNN

William Trubridge: Freediver sets new world record

By Tom McGowan, CNN
2 minute read
Updated 1:34 PM EDT, Mon May 2, 2016
Diver William Trubridge has achieved his 16th world record.
Diver William Trubridge has achieved his 16th world record.
EMILY IRVING-SWIFT/AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Story highlights

William Trubridge dives to depth of 122m

New Zealander's dive took 4 min, 24 secs

16th time he has broken world record

CNN  — 

Imagine holding your breath for four minutes and 24 seconds.

Now imagine diving deeper into the sea than the Statue of Liberty is tall.

That’s exactly what New Zealander William Trubridge did in the Bahamas Saturday, breaking his own world record in the process.

Trubridge plunged 122 meters into the depths of the ocean, surpassing his previous mark of 121 meters achieved in April 2011 and setting a world record for the 16th time in his career.

Read: The undersea world of the “Moscow Merman”

Freediver Alexey Molchanov, taken by photographer Lia Barrett.
Freediver Alexey Molchanov, taken by photographer Lia Barrett.
Courtesy Lia Barrett
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Related gallery Undersea world of a 'Moscow Merman'

Free immersion is a type of freediving which involves a diver using a length of rope during their dive.

“I had a beautiful descent, everything went well with the descent,” the 35-year-old said in a video posted to the Vertical Blue website.

Read: You’ve never seen flags like this

But it was during his return to the surface that Trubridge ran into difficulties, describing his ascent as “terrible.”

“At that point I was completely out of the headspace that I need to be in for a deep dive,” he explained.

“With my focus off, I was not in the right head space, not in the place I like to be, to complete my dive with ease or confidence. In fact, as I neared the surface I thought I might have a big blackout at the top.”

Luckily Trubridge emerged unscathed, and will attempt another world record on Tuesday.

It was a special occasion for the Trubridge family, with William’s father watching his son break a world record for the first time.

“We lived on the ocean on a yacht for 10 years, it was our home and for him the sea was his back garden, it was his playground,” David Trubridge reminisced.

“So it made sense for him to do this kind of thing.”

See those sharks swimming in the backgroud? Yep, they're real. The casually dressed men sipping coffee underwater? Real too. Welcome to the remarkable real life water world.
Close encounters —
See those sharks swimming in the backgroud? Yep, they're real. The casually dressed men sipping coffee underwater? Real too. Welcome to the remarkable real life water world.
Courtesy Lia Barrett
The extraordinary images are the work of U.S. photographer Lia Barrett, who used freedivers as underwater models off the coast of Honduras.
Family affair —
The extraordinary images are the work of U.S. photographer Lia Barrett, who used freedivers as underwater models off the coast of Honduras.
Courtesy Lia Barrett
It was while photographing a freediving competition, the Caribbean Cup, that Barrett decided to live out a lifelong dream and create a fantastical water world where humans go about everyday tasks such as drinking coffee, riding bikes, and strolling along the ocean floor.
Man vs beast —
It was while photographing a freediving competition, the Caribbean Cup, that Barrett decided to live out a lifelong dream and create a fantastical water world where humans go about everyday tasks such as drinking coffee, riding bikes, and strolling along the ocean floor.
Courtesy Lia Barrett
Freedivers are extreme athletes who plumb the depths of the ocean on a single breath of air, sometimes descending more than 100 meters -- the equivalent of a 30-storey building -- without the use of oxygen tanks.
Super sub —
Freedivers are extreme athletes who plumb the depths of the ocean on a single breath of air, sometimes descending more than 100 meters -- the equivalent of a 30-storey building -- without the use of oxygen tanks.
Courtesy Lia Barrett
"You definitely want to get into a completely realxed state mentally and physically before you dive," said champion freediver William Trubridge. "You generally lie down before a dive, relax, breathe normally and visualize what you're about to do."
Merman? —
"You definitely want to get into a completely realxed state mentally and physically before you dive," said champion freediver William Trubridge. "You generally lie down before a dive, relax, breathe normally and visualize what you're about to do."
Courtesy Lia Barrett
"When the dive starts, you take as big a breath as possible. The deeper you go, the more your lungs are compressed. Past 20 meters you become negatively buoyant, you enter into free fall, and you can just drop into the blue," said Trubridge, adding: "On the way up you have to work to counteract that, you have to swim extra hard."
Extreme sport —
"When the dive starts, you take as big a breath as possible. The deeper you go, the more your lungs are compressed. Past 20 meters you become negatively buoyant, you enter into free fall, and you can just drop into the blue," said Trubridge, adding: "On the way up you have to work to counteract that, you have to swim extra hard."
Courtesy Lia Barrett
The moment freedivers reach the surface, dramatically ripping off their goggles and sucking in lungfuls of air, offers a strange mixture of exhilaration and relief for the dozens of spectators waiting on deck.
Sweet relief —
The moment freedivers reach the surface, dramatically ripping off their goggles and sucking in lungfuls of air, offers a strange mixture of exhilaration and relief for the dozens of spectators waiting on deck.
Courtesy Lia Barrett
Water world: freedivers suspend belief