German man wins exciting hold-your-breath competition

In a breathtaking win, German free diver Tom Sietas emerged victorious in a face-off against Brazil's Ricardo Bahia to see who could hold his breath the longest underwater, a discipline called static apnea in which both men are experts. Sietas' time — 18 minutes, 16 seconds, according to the Mirror — bests his own world record time of 17 minutes, 28 seconds, set in Madrid four years ago. The competition took place in temperature-controlled tanks in Changsha, China, where it was filmed for Chinese TV. But whether Sietas' time in the competition constitutes a new world record is unclear: The diving site DeeperBlue.com reports that Sietas racked up a 22 minute, 22 second stint underwater prior to the competition.