Free-Diver David Vencl Plunges to Record Depth in Frozen Swiss Lake | Guardian Sport

David Vencl emerged from the depths of Switzerland’s Lake Sils after a record dive of 52.1 meters beneath the ice without a wetsuit.

The 40-year-old Czech diver’s record vertical plunge in a single breath follows his entry into the Guinness World Records book for swimming the length of a frozen Czech lake in 2021. Vencl dived through a hole in the ice then retrieved a sticker from a depth of 50 meters to prove his feat before re-emerging through the same hole. The Swiss plunge in temperatures of between 1 and 4 degrees Celsius took him 1 minute 54 seconds. His promoter Pavel Kalous said, ‘Here is nothing difficult for him to be in cold water … lack of oxygen is something normal for him. But this was completely different because it’s really difficult to work with the pressure in your ears in cold water.’