Kiwi freediver William Trubridge admits he thought his attempt at a new world record "was going pear-shaped" as he returned to the surface.
Trubridge, 36, reached a depth of 102m on single breath at Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas this morning.
He broke his old mark of 101m for the deepest unassisted dive in history.
Speaking to TVNZ's Breakfast this morning, he said after reaching the bottom relatively comfortably, he felt himself struggling on the ascent.
"I started to wonder if it was going to go pear shaped again," he said, referring to a failed attempt in December 2014.
However he managed to contain his composure and reached the surface after 4min 13sec.
"A huge sense of relief and elation," he said.
"It's been over two years in the making. To get this record now is a dream."
His parents, David and Linda, were in the Breakfast studio watching their son, and shook their head in disbelief at his achievement.
The Kiwi dives 102m unassisted on a single breath in the Bahamas.
"I'm so overjoyed," Mrs Trubridge said.
It is the 18th world record he has set, and comes after he fell just 10m short of the record in December 2014.
Trubridge's two most recent records include back-to-back dives at the same location, during which he went 122m down using a rope.
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