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10
May 2006
David
Blaine Fails In Water
Record
Bid
Illusionist
David
Blaine
has failed in his bid to
break the world record
for holding his breath
under water, while
simultaneously escaping
heavy chains.
Divers
pulled him from his
water-filled sphere
after he began
struggling two minutes
short of his nine-minute
goal.
David
Blaine spent seven days
under water in New York
receiving food and air
through tubes. Crowds of
spectators and millions
of TV viewers saw him
rescued.
Appearing
shaken and weak, he
thanked his supporters
and left for
hospital.
"This
was a very difficult
week but you all made it
fly by with your strong
spirit, your energy.
Thank you so much
everybody," David Blaine
told a cheering crowd in
Lincoln
Square.
The
current world record for
holding breath under
water stands at eight
minutes and 58
seconds.
David
Blaine spent seven
minutes and eight
seconds holding his
breath before being
rescued.
He
appeared to have freed
himself from chains
attached to his hands
but was struggling to
free his feet when the
divers entered the tank
and pulled him
out.
Before
the record attempt,
David Blaine spent a
week in the tank,
receiving medical
treatment over the
weekend. His spokesman
Pat Smith said his
peeling skin and overall
condition were worrying
doctors.
"They're
worried about loss of
dexterity," Mr Smith
said. "There is
considerable concern
about both his hands and
his muscle
tone."
In
order to receive medical
attention, Blaine stuck
his hand out of a hole
at the top of a tank,
allowing doctors to
remove specially created
gloves, apply lotion and
put on new
gloves.
Murat
Gunel, Blaine's doctor,
had advised against
performing the escape.
Before embarking on the
stunt, the 33-year-old
US showman shed 50lbs
(23kg) in body weight to
improve the efficiency
of the way his body uses
oxygen.
Prolonged
submersion in water
poses a number of
hazards, including nerve
damage, blackouts, sleep
deprivation and skin
problems.
David
Blaine had said his skin
was causing him pain
"like constant pins and
needles" after five days
in the acrylic
sphere.
A
lack of adequate oxygen,
especially after seven
days underwater, also
carries a risk of
irreversible brain
injury, according to
medical
experts.
Blaine's
previous stunts have
included spending 61
hours inside a block of
ice and fasting for 44
days in a Perspex box
over London's River
Thames.
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