French firefighter, Jonathan Vero, has set a new Guinness World Record by achieving the longest distance full body burn run without oxygen.
Wearing a protective suit, the 39-year-old ran 272.25 metres (893 ft) while engulfed in flames, breaking the previous record of 204.23 metres (670 ft).
In doing so, Jonathan also broke the record for the fastest full body burn 100 m sprint without oxygen, clocking in at 17 seconds, beating the previous record by 7.58 seconds.
Both records were previously held by Antony Britton from the United Kingdom.
The GWR category of the longest distance full body burn run without oxygen record is highly competitive and has changed hands seven times since 2009.
The GWR reported that Jonathan ran over three times further than Keith Malcolm (UK) did when he originally set this record 14 years ago.
In addition to being a firefighter, Jonathan is also a professional stuntman. He says he’s “always had a passion for fire,” and he’s “never stopped playing with it” ever since he was a child.
Jonathan spent three months preparing for his record-breaking run, training his “endurance, explosiveness, and breathing.”
The official attempt took place in his hometown of Haubourdin, France, as he wanted to do it in “the city that saw me grow up,” on the same athletics track which he trained on during his youth.
He said afterwards: “This performance has a lot of meaning for me, for my job as a firefighter and for the people who trained me and watched me grow.”
However, Jonathan has said he has no intention of stopping here, “I’ve still got a lot to try and a lot of records to go for,” he said.
