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New York Lifeguard Shatters Underwater Walking Record

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Joe Wilkie walked farther, under the circumstances, than anyone has ever walked before. Last week, the 21 year old lifeguard clutched a 25-pound weight and plunged into the deep end of the indoor pool at the Aquatic and Fitness Center in Tonawanda, New York. He quickly put a foot on the black line tiled into the pool’s white floor and then a foot in front of that. He kept going, climbing the pool’s sloping floor into the shallow end until he hit the opposite wall. Then he did what nobody has done before. He doubled back, taking about 20 more steps until his legs and lungs could push no farther. This week, Guinness may confirm what an underwater camera captured and everyone who’s seen the video already knows: Wilkie smashed the world record for the longest distance ever traveled by foot underwater without coming up for air. Guinness has the record at 50 meters, the length of an Olympic-sized pool. In 1 minute and 15 seconds, Wilkie appears to have gone 73.6 meters. The proof is in the footage. Guinness will likely soon confirm it.

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