An 18-year old student from Georgia, Vako Marchelashvili, solved six Rubik’s Cubes underwater in one breath on Aug. 17 with the aim to set a new Guinness World Record.
He was submerged in a glass tank for just over one minute and 44 seconds as he flipped, turned and solved the cubes in front of a crowd at the Gino Paradise aqua park Tbilisi.
The current record was set by Anthony Brooks at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S., on Aug. 1, 2014, according to the Guinness World Record website.
In April 2015 Washington University junior and member of the school swim team Kevin Hays solved eight Rubik’s Cubes, but his result was not accepted as a record due to a violation of technical aspects.
Guinness World Record
After observing Marchelashvili’s attempt, the Georgian Records Federation issued a diploma confirming his result. They are going to send the evidence to Guinness World Record.
Marchelashvili said he had been preparing for the underwater challenge for six months and had to train several hours a day.
“I trained a lot planning to break a record – and to ensure my safety, because even a small mistake could be dangerous and life-altering,” Marchelashvili said afterwards.
“I think my result will stay as a record for a long time. I hope to break many other records.”
By Hugh Lawson