David Blaine, the illusionist and stunt artist, today broke the world record for holding his breath.

He remained under water in a glass sphere live on US television for 17 minutes and 4 seconds.

Blaine made a failed attempt to set the record in New York two years ago, but this time he was pulled out of the giant goldfish bowl having achieved his goal.

The feat took place on the Oprah Winfrey Show with the studio audience cheering as a calm-looking Blaine completed what he called “a lifelong dream”.

The previous record was 16 minutes and 32 seconds, set on February 10 by Peter Colat, from Switzerland.

Before he entered the tank, Blaine spent 30 minutes inhaling pure oxygen through a mask to saturate his blood with oxygen and flush out carbon dioxide.

The Brooklyn born magician came to prominence with a television series in which he performed street magic tricks before he graduated to more grandiose feats.

In previous stunts he has been buried alive for a week in a see-through coffin, spent 63 hours encased in a block of ice and stood on a 100-foot-tall pillar for 35 hours.

In 2003, Blaine was suspended above the River Thames in London for 44 days surviving only on water.

Londoners taunted the starving entertainer with barbeques lit below him and a burger dangled from a remote-controlled helicopter, others pelted his box with golf balls and eggs.

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