How long was the longest breath hold ever?
On April 30, 2007 David Blaine was on the Oprah Winfrey show, not just for an interview, but to also make an attempt to break the record for the world's longest breath hold of 16 minutes 32 seconds set by Peter Colat.
David Blaine did beat the record, spending a soggy 17 minutes 4.4 seconds in an acrylic bubble filled with water.
But.......Although David Blaine's record is recognized by Guinness, it is not recognized by the free diving community due to the fact that he spent 23 minutes breathing pure oxygen before his attempt.
From Wikipedia: Static Apnea should not be confused with the Guinness World Record for holding the breath underwater. Guinness allows inhalation of oxygen prior to the athlete's performance, while such inhalation is strictly forbidden according to AIDA's rules for the recognition of records para 3.9.
According to AIDA, the record for the longest breath hold is owned by Tom Sietas at 9 minutes 8 seconds which he accomplished in Hamburg, Germany in 2007.
******David Blaine******