New Zealander William Trubridge breaks freediving world record

April 26, 2010 29-year-old from New Zealand set a new  record on Sunday, reaching a depth of 116  (380 ) in the Atlantic Ocean, holding his breath for four minutes nine seconds &mdash; breaking the world record for the deepest free immersion dive.

Wearing a silicon-coated wetsuit, Trubridge plunged into world's deepest in a bay west of  on, Bahamas. is 202 metres (663 ft) deep. Using breaststroke and fins to decend, he said “It was hard to get the tag from the bottom as I struggled with some ". "[I] wasted some time fumbling for the tag, then set off for the surface. I had to use my arms a little from 20m".

Trubridge already held nine world records, and the dive put him into first place in the "Vertical Blue Suunto Dive-Off" competition. Earlier in the tournament he broke the record for a "constant weight, no fins" unassisted dive to 92m (301ft) &mdash; the first person to reach the 300ft unaided.

There are many different classes of freediving. For breath-hold diving, there is with- and without-fins, and with/without 'assistance', such as a weighted sled.

This record was for "Constant Weight Apnea with fins", where the diver cannot drop any weights during the dive, and follows a guide line, but cannot touch it. They may use fins to descend, but on the ascent they pull themselves up with the rope. Divers retrieve a tag from a metal plate placed at a certain depth. The record was previously held by Austrian, who reached a depth of 92m (301ft) on 19 April 2010. The 'no limits' record, in which competitors can use a weighted sled, is 214m (702 ft).