Known as the “deepest free diver in the world without oxygen”, Herbert Nitsch, an Austrian citizen, reached a depth of 253.2 meters in the waters of Spetses, Greece, in June 2007. To this day, Herbert Nitsch holds 33 world records in deep diving, including the record for holding breath for 9 minutes and 4 seconds.
As an Austrian free diver, Herbert Nitsch was born on April 20, 1970, and was previously a pilot for Tyrolean Airways. He recalls, “Since I was 6 years old, I have loved swimming and diving. In the tiny pool at my home, I once held my breath for over a minute, which made my mother think I was drowning. From the shore, she jumped in fully clothed, pulling me up while shouting for my father. When she saw me open my eyes and smile, she gave me a painful slap on the back.”
Herbert Nitsch after recovering from his dive at 253.2m.
In 2001, Nitsch achieved his first world record by diving to a depth of 131 meters. Subsequently, he set records in four categories defined by the World Underwater Federation: static apnea (holding breath while completely still), dynamics with fins (holding breath while swimming), free immersion (holding breath while allowing the body to sink), and dynamic without fins (holding breath while swimming without diving gear). In 2002, he broke his own record for “unlimited diving” with a depth of 214 meters, all without using oxygen tanks.
For divers not using oxygen tanks, the most dangerous phenomenon is nitrogen narcosis, which occurs when diving deeper than 18 meters. At that depth, nitrogen gas in the blood can form bubbles that enter the lungs and tissues like the arms and thighs. If a diver panics or loses control and ascends too quickly, they may experience symptoms starting with memory loss and seizures, followed by paralysis of the limbs and then total body paralysis. If they are lucky enough to survive, they may remain paralyzed for the rest of their lives.
For this reason, in many countries, diving associations prohibit recreational divers without oxygen from diving deeper than 12 meters, and from 12 to 30 meters, a diving certification is mandatory. For depths of 40 meters and above, oxygen tanks are required, and a certified diving instructor must accompany those without certification in using the breathing apparatus.
Returning to Herbert Nitsch’s deep dive record, after training with a device called a “torpedo,” which helps pull him down quickly, at 9 AM on June 6, 2007, Nitsch began his dive in the waters of Spetses, Greece, equipped with depth measurement devices, heart rate monitors, temperature control, a non-inflated buoy, and a compressed air tank. According to his calculations, before surfacing, Nitsch would activate the air tank to inflate the buoy, providing him with enough oxygen to breathe upon reaching the surface. In just 9 minutes, Nitsch descended to a depth of 253.2 meters, and 4 seconds later, as he prepared to ascend, he activated the oxygen buoy. The total time Nitsch held his breath to reach this world record depth was 9 minutes and 4 seconds.
Dive quickly, ascend slowly; this is the principle all divers follow to prevent nitrogen bubbles from forming in the blood, which can kill divers or leave them permanently disabled. It took Nitsch 3 hours and 37 minutes to reach the surface, but he still exhibited symptoms of decompression sickness. Fortunately, when taken to a decompression chamber, he recovered, contrary to experts’ predictions that he would need to use a wheelchair for a long time. Reflecting on this, he said: “My initial plan was to stop at 10 meters for a minute to decompress, but when I reached 100 meters, I felt dizzy and lost track of time, so I skipped the decompression phase. Just before reaching the surface, I suddenly regained my senses. To avoid a sudden decompression, I descended back to 10 meters and stayed there for 20 minutes. By the time I was completely on the surface, the rescue team quickly took me to a decompression chamber at the Athens hospital…”
From then until 2012, Nitsch continued to set multiple world records in 8 categories according to the standards of the World Underwater Federation. In total, he has free dove without oxygen 34 times, with the shallowest dive being 62 meters without protective clothing or fins, wearing only swimming trunks! Medical surveys show that Nitsch’s brain can withstand complete oxygen deprivation for about 10 minutes, unlike a normal person, who can suffer irreversible damage to nerve cells after just 3 to 5 minutes without oxygen, resulting in permanent disability. Similarly, Nitsch’s lungs can also endure oxygen deprivation for 10 minutes without causing respiratory failure, and his heart rate while diving only beats 30 to 40 beats per minute, compared to the normal rate of 80.
After 2012, Nitsch retired from competitive diving. Currently, he makes a living designing boats, including submarines. When asked by Divers magazine why he doesn’t open a diving school, Nitsch replied: “Teaching someone to dive is easy, but whether they can actually dive is the real question.”
In 2098, Italian astronomer Vincenzo Casulli discovered asteroid number 295471 and, in accordance with the naming conventions of the International Astronomical Union, named it after Herbert Nitsch to honor the deepest diver in the world. Since then, on the astronomical map, it has been referred to as the asteroid Herbertnitsch.
