Editing Jacques Mayol (section)

== Dolphins ==
Mayol's fascination with [[dolphin]]s started in 1955 when he was working as a commercial diver at an aquarium in [[Miami]], Florida.<ref name="thejacquesmayol"/> There he met a female dolphin called Clown and formed a close bond with her. Imitating Clown, he learned how to hold his breath longer and how to behave and integrate himself underwater. It is the dolphins that became the foundation of Mayol's life philosophy of "Homo Delphinus".<ref name="apnea"/>

Throughout his book ''L'Homo Delphinus''<ref name="apnea"/> (2000 published in English as ''Homo Delphinus: The Dolphin within Man'' by Idelson Gnocchi Publishers Ltd.) Mayol expounds his theories about man's relationship with the sea, and explores the [[aquatic ape hypothesis]] of human origins. He felt man could reawaken his dormant mental and spiritual faculties and the physiological mechanisms from the depths of his psyche and genetic make-up to develop the potential of his aquatic origins, to become a ''Homo delphinus''.

Jacques Mayol predicted that within a couple of generations, some people would be able to dive to {{convert|300|m|ft}} and hold their breath for up to ten minutes. Today the no-limits record stands at 253 m ([[Herbert Nitsch]], June 2012). Serbian Branko Petrović holds the record for [[Static Apnea]] at 11 minutes and 54 seconds (October 2014).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.deeperblue.com/new-guinness-world-record-serbian-freediver-branko-petrovic/ |title=New Guinness World Record for Serbian Freediver Branko Petrovic |first=Stephan |last=Whelan |date=12 October 2014 |access-date=20 November 2019 |archive-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622005009/https://www.deeperblue.com/new-guinness-world-record-serbian-freediver-branko-petrovic/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Croatian Budimir Šobat holds the record for static apnea on pure oxygen at 24 minutes 37 second (27 March 2021).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2021/5/freediver-holds-breath-for-almost-25-minutes-breaking-record-660285 |title=56-year-old freediver holds breath for almost 25 minutes breaking record |website=Guiness world records }}</ref>