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Iceman Wim Hof has broken his own record for standing in a vat of freezing water.
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The Dutch daredevil, who has an incredible talent for being able to withstand cold, was submerged up to his shoulders in -20oC water for one hour 43 mins.
He smashed his previous record by one minute and vowed: “Next time I’ll break the record again by another minute.”
Wim, 48, became known as “The Ice Man” after spending the last 20 years testing his talent in the most extreme conditions from scaling mountain tops wearing nothing but a pair of shorts to swimming under sheets of ice in the north pole.
The latest attempt was shown live on American chat show Regis and Kelly in New York.
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Wim, who says his keeps his ‘core temperature’ at 37oC by the power of his mind, admitted: “There were times when I thought I might not break the record.
“My mind diverted somewhere else and I had a horrible feeling of cold.
“Then I had to make my mind focused again. It would take about a minute to get my core temperature back up again.”
After smashing his record, Wim was whisked off for a hot shower to help himself acclimatise to normal temperatures.
“The most dangerous part is afterwards because that’s when you can suffer shock,” he said.
“While I am in the water I keep my veins and all my arteries closed so the cold on the outside does not reach my inner core temperature.
“But when you get out of the water the veins open again and you can get cold. I take a shower to help my body to adjust.”
His attempt was officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records and he was handed a new certificate.
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Wim discovered his unusual talent over 20 years ago during a stroll in the park in his native Holland.
“I had a stroll like this in the park with somebody and I saw the ice and I thought, what would happen if I go in there,” revealed the Dutchman.
“I was really attracted to it. I went in, got rid of my clothes. Thirty seconds I was in and a tremendous good feeling when I came out and since then, I repeated it every day.”
It was the moment that Hof knew that his body was different somehow. He was able to withstand fatally freezing temperatures.
Hof began a lifelong quest to see just how far his abilities would take him.
In 2000, dressed only in a swimsuit, he dived under the ice at the North Pole and earned a Guinness World Record for the longest amount of time swimming under 60 metres under the ice.
In 2002 Wim travelled 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle to run a half-marathon in his bare feet.
© Henny Boogart / Barcroft Media
In the same year, Wim completed four additional half marathons as he travelled across Europe.
Whilst many scientists around the world find Wim’s ability an anomaly, Wim says it is merely a case of mind over matter.
Practising an ancient Himalayan meditation called “Tummo,” or Inner Fire, Wim is able to generate inner heat.
Wim now travels the world teaching the technique through his record attempts, lectures and talks.
Words by Jack Fletcher
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