Venezuelan Swimmer Smashes Free Diving Record

Earlier this week, Venezuelan free diver Carlos Coste swam his way into the Guinness Book of Records by diving to a depth of 492ft. (150 meters) without using any breathing apparatus.

The 34-year old competitive diver performed his daring dive by swimming through one of the tunnels of the colossal underwater cave network of Dos Ojos (two eyes) that lies on the Caribbean coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Equipped with just a monofin to provide thrust and a torch to guide him through the dark waters, Carlos completed his amazing feat in just two and a half minutes, holding his breath the entire time. While that seems like a lot, it was a piece of cake for this amazing free diver who has trained himself to hold his breath underwater for seven whole minutes!

Carlos who had been training for this event for about three years says that the diving at such depths is not about going as fast as one can, but about finding a steady pace and being in the best hydrodynamic position.

Needless to say, the triumphant diver was thrilled after he was done - Not only had he more than doubled the 75 meter depth that he needed to achieve for the record books, but he had also done it by combining his love for speleology and swimming. Pretty awesome!