The Guinness World Record for Longest Underwater Kiss has been broken in time for Valentine’s Day 2023 by South African National Freediving Champion Beth Neale and her Canadian partner, Miles Cloutier.
Breaking the world record for longest underwater kiss had been on the couple’s bucket list for three years, but planning had been previously interrupted when Neale discovered she was pregnant during filming of the duo’s TV series, Freediving Diaries, with their now 18-month-old baby daughter.
‘We felt that Valentine’s was the perfect day to share the new record with the world as it’s such a beautiful reflection of our love for the underwater world, and our love for each other in a place where we discovered I was going to be having a baby girl.’ said Neale, ‘and what better way to make a moment last than a 4-minute 6-second kiss!’
‘We had to be completely relaxed and confident, even when our bodies were experiencing something else,’ said Cloutier. ‘Beth has never focused on time, and completed all of her freediving records solo so it was an extra challenge for her to relax as a couple, while being ultimately responsible for the preparations of the entire event.’
The couple use very different breath-holding techniques. Neale says she tends to ‘go with the flow’, keeping her mind distracted from any measurement of time while she performs her deep dives and long breath holds, while Miles is analytical and focused on training. However, the couple agrees that the practice is at least 90 per cent mind-over-matter, particularly useful given the heightened tensions involved in staging the world record-breaking kiss.
‘Everything went smoothly until the pressure built up a few days before our attempt,’ said Cloutier. ‘We suffered three consecutive days of failing to break the existing record. Fortunately, the day of the attempt felt nothing like it did in training.’
The record was officiated by Guinness World Records adjudicator, Swapnil Dangarikar, who flew in from India to monitor proceedings, with two official witnesses and timekeepers also present, plus a crowd of resort guests and staff.
Aside from their new world record, the couple is working to expand their reach on worldwide TV and streaming services to entice more people into experiencing the underwater world for themselves. Both have plans to film extensively along the coast of Africa this year, including South Africa and Mozambique, as well as a few other exotic Indian Ocean destinations.
‘Through sharing our underwater love story, we hope to inspire others to fall in love with the magic and wonder of the underwater world,’ said Neale. ‘You protect what you love and the oceans need all the love we can give to safeguard them for future generations to come.’
