NEED TO KNOW
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A Swiss man holds the world record for the longest amount of time in full-body contact with snow
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Elias Meyer, a competitive powerlifter, took the title on April 2, 2024, after he spent 2 hours, 7 seconds buried under a pile of snow
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The previous record was held by Polish man Valerjan Romanvoski at 1 hour, 45 minutes, 2 seconds
A Swiss man holds the world record for the longest amount of time in full-body contact with snow.
Elias Meyer, a competitive powerlifter, took the title on April 2, 2024, after he spent 2 hours, 7 seconds buried under a pile of snow over 3 ft. tall, according to Guinness World Records. Meyer wore nothing but swim shorts during the experience.
“I needed a new challenge and I said to myself, ‘Why not?’ ” the athlete told Guinness in a video interview at the time.
In an Instagram post shared on April 3, 2024, one day after the record-breaking moment, Meyer said that he had trained for the day for over three months. He then went on to describe the physical sensation of being buried in the frigid temperatures.
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“The heavy snow pressed me down, causing my shoulders and elbows to ache,” he wrote in the post’s caption. “Perhaps you also feel a sharp ice cube against your back, with no chance to do anything about it, you can only be thankful, thankful for everything.”
“I stopped at two hours because I had to travel home, but there is much more to come,” he added.
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While humans can train themselves to adapt to cold temperatures, there was a real risk of hypothermia during the two hours. Because of this, Meyer made sure to have a hospital, as well as an emergency medical team, near where he was conducting the challenge, along with observers who “continually monitored his internal body temperature and his health,” per Guinness.
Observers noted that Meyer appeared relatively unfazed throughout the ordeal and often appeared to be sleeping with his eyes closed.
The previous record for the longest amount of time in the snow was set in 2022 by Valerjan Romanvoski, a Polish man who held the title at 1 hour, 45 minutes, 2 seconds, according to United Press International.
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