Stig Severinsen

Stig Åvall Severinsen (born 8 March 1973) is a Danish freediver. He is a four-time world freediving champion and holder of multiple Guinness World Records. He also wrote Træk Vejret – mere energi, mindre stress, published in English in 2010 as Breatheology – The Art of Conscious Breathing.

Background

Severinsen has a degree in biology and a PhD in medicine. He started swimming at the age of 6 and was awarded National Champion four years in a row at 9, 10, 11 and 12. In 1993–2003 he played Underwater Rugby, and was a member of the Danish national team. During university studies in Barcelona, Spain in 1998–99, he played underwater hockey on the Spanish national team. A fascination with long breath holds under water drew him to the world of free diving. In 2010 he founded Breatheology, an online platform teaching optimal health and performance via breathing, breath holding and mental training techniques.

Career

Combining yoga and his knowledge of physiology in freediving, Severinsen became a record holder of four AIDA freediving world records. He achieved two Guinness World Records in 2010: in March that year he swam under ice wearing only swimming trunks and goggles, exceeding Wim Hof's record of March 2000 by ; and in April, after inhaling pure oxygen, he held his breath for 20 minutes and 10 seconds in a tank full of sharks at the Kattegat Centre in Grenaa. In May 2012 he was awarded the record of "Longest time breath held voluntarily (male)" by Guinness World Records for holding his breath for 22 minutes; this record was achieved in a tank at the London School of Diving with the water cooled to . He held this record until 28 February 2016, when it was broken by Aleix Segura. In April 2013 in Qorlortoq Lake in east Greenland, he set two new world records for "longest swim under ice - breath held": while wearing a wetsuit and monofin, taking 2 minutes, 11 seconds, and the following day, wearing only swimming trunks. He announced that these would be his last record attempts and he would now concentrate on teaching.

In 2020, Severinsen came back from retirement to break another record. He swam 202 meters on a single breath at La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico on 26 November 2020.

Severinsen was chosen "The Ultimate Superhuman" on the Discovery Channel programme Superhuman Showdown, and a documentary about him, Stig Severinsen: The Man Who Doesn't Breathe, was produced for broadcast on Discovery and on Quest in the UK in October 2013.

In Breatheology Severinsen proposes that through working with the breath, a link can be created between body and mind that enables a person to control stress, increase energy, perform better physically and mentally, alleviate pain and improve health.

AIDA Freediving World Records

Date Record Discipline Location 19 July 2003 166 m Dynamic Apnea without fins (DNF) Aarhus, Denmark 28 Sept 2003 61 m Constant Weight without fins (CNF) Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela 16 June 2007 225 m Dynamic Apnea (DYF) Aarhus, Denmark 7 July 2007 186 m Dynamic Apnea without fins (DNF) Maribor, Slovenia

Personal bests

Discipline Result AccreditationTime STA8:40min AIDA STA O222:00min GuinnessDistance DNF186m AIDA DYN225m AIDA DYN under ice152.4m GuinnessDepth CNF61m AIDA CWT64m AIDA FIM56m AIDA