Freedivers Beth Neale (South Africa) and Miles Cloutier (Canada) decided that Valentine's Day should be approached with the words: «Only love, only a kiss, only hardcore!». The couple in love decided that «canoodling» on land – is too ordinary, and therefore they did it for 4 minutes 6 seconds underwater in a special deep pool, setting a new record on February 4, 2023.
Thus, the previous record of 3 minutes 24 seconds, which belonged to Michele Fucarino and Elisa Lazzarini, was broken after 13 years.
40-year-old Beth and 33-year-old Miles have been together for five years now, since the day they met in Bermuda: it was there that that very love at first sight overtook them. At the time Beth was teaching children freediving and working on environmental issues related to ocean conservation, while Miles simply signed up as a volunteer to help her. From that very time they have not parted.
Now both divers live in South Africa with their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Nevi. To set the record, the whole family specially traveled to the Maldives. Beth and Miles approached their «tender training» with the utmost seriousness. Every Maldivian morning for a week they began their preparation at 7:30 a.m.: first the couple warmed up with breath-holding, and then they perfected the technique of kissing underwater.
The record-holders admit that they did not expect such difficulties during the morning sessions, although they had no shortage of experience with breath-holding. They began preparing for the longest underwater kiss several weeks before the trip to the islands. However, once on the spot, fatigue and nervousness took their toll.
«Three days before the record, I simply could not hold my breath»,- Beth admitted .
And although she is a four-time South African freediving champion, in this situation the title in no way made the task easier. The longest underwater kiss was a completely different story: Beth and Miles had to remain motionless for a certain period of time. Since carbon dioxide was accumulating in their bodies during this time, the couple struggled the whole time against the urge to surface and take a deep breath.
When the «day of reckoning» arrived, a large crowd gathered on one of the Maldivian beaches to watch the heroes who had decided to set a new record. The only thing that Beth and Miles asked of the spectators at that moment was for them to keep quiet during their dive, until the freedivers passed the four-minute mark.
However, being at depth, they could not hear the joyful cheers and applause from those who had come to support them.
According to Miles, he and Beth were waiting for applause, but there was none, so they continued to stay underwater, focused on the kiss. And the more time passed, the more uncomfortable they became. With racing heartbeats and an increasingly strong urge to surface, they overcame themselves second by second. And it paid off in full, since it led the divers to victory.
After it was all over, Beth admitted that during the process she was wearing underwater headphones and listening to Eminem's song «Lose Yourself Underwater». This track helped her distract herself from the difficult time underwater.
Now the couple has already returned to their usual pastime. Beth and Miles explore the underwater depths together, making films about them. They work closely with conservation and tourism organizations in order to be able to show people what is hidden from their eyes. Their mission: to teach and inspire as many people as possible to take up freediving and to make their own small contribution to solving problems related to the environment.
