The best in, on, and under water

Imagine gulping in a huge breath of air, filling your lungs with oxygen, and sticking your head underwater.

Most of us could stay below for a minute, maybe two. But some extraordinary individuals are driven to be the very best, no matter what. One man decided he could hold his breath longer than anyone else in the world and trained until he could stay underwater for more than 24 minutes.

Meet that record-holder and some other athletes who are the very best in, on, and under the water, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

An 80-person pyramid

The largest human water skiing pyramid was made up of 80 show skiers. The team, Mercury Marine Pyramid in Wisconsin, beat the record in 2018.

But they’re not done — the group will attempt a 100-skier pyramid later this year.

24 minutes underwater

Don’t try this at home: The world record for holding your breath underwater is 24 minutes, 37 seconds.

The record belongs to Budimir Šobat, a Croatian man who set the record in 2020. At 56, Šobat has used the attention he’s gained to raise money for people affected by earthquakes in Croatia and to promote autism acceptance.

30 water-pack back flips

Tomasz Kubik, of Poland, strapped on a water jet pack and flew into the air. He had one minute to break the record for most back flips with a water jet pack.

Averaging a full flip every two seconds, he set the record of 30 in 2019.

1,090 feet underwater

It took Ahmed Gabr 12 minutes to sink deeper into the sea than anyone else ever had. But it took almost 15 hours for the Egyptian man to return to the surface of the Red Sea from a little more than 1,040 feet below. The extreme water pressure at that depth makes resurfacing too quickly dangerous.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, when 41-year-old Gabr finally resurfaced, he had a big smile on his face.