WORLD RECORD SET BY MAGICIAN DAVID BLAINE

US magician David Blaine has set a world record after holding his breath for more than 17 minutes while suspended in a water-filled sphere on Oprah Winfrey's talk show.

The previous record of 16minutes, 32 seconds was set this year in Switzerland by Peter Colat.

"I feel great," Blaine said when he was pulled to the surface yesterday.

"I actually started to doubt I was going to make it because I'd never done it with such a high heart rate."

His aides said during the event that his heart rate should have dropped far lower than it did.

"I feel happy ... a life-long dream," he told Winfrey on the set of her show.

He said he had hoped to reach 23 minutes.

Blaine, 35, was pulled from the water after 17 minutes, 4.4seconds.

"There's no enhancement, no cheating," he told Winfrey, adding that while he makes his living as a magician, his stunts are not about magic but about pushing the limits of the human body.