South African free-diver Amber Fillary broke the Guinness World Record for freediving distance under ice in a costume in near-freezing conditions in Norway on Saturday 29 February.

She undertook the challenge as part of her mission to raise awareness of mental health.

The previous record stood at 50m and she shattered this convincingly by swimming a distance of 70 metres under ice with one breath.

This extraordinary achievement for a South African athlete follows her first attempt to break the record in 2019 in Finland, where she unfortunately was entangled in ropes and had to abort.

Fillary has battled depression and addiction in the past and the emotional setback after Finland almost derailed her ambitions. But as she says, “Depression and addiction should not get in the way of you reaching your dreams” and she set her sights on a second attempt.

Fillary currently holds two South African woman’s freediving pool records for static breath hold (6 minutes) as well as distance breath hold with no fins (134 metres).

She loves freediving as it helps her calm her mind and its taught her much about her own battle with mental health.

“Depression can make every task you attempt overwhelming, but the extremeness of freediving has showed me that the human body can do so much more than imagined and we can achieve anything if we can move beyond our fears and mental barriers. Even the biggest challenges can be overcome.”

To watch this amazing feat, click