Milutin Veljković (born 1935, Zaječar – died 2011, USA) was a Serbian speleologist, electrician, and physics student, best known for setting a new Guinness World Record for the longest consecutive time spent underground (464 days).[1][2]
Milutin Veljković | |
|---|---|
 Veljković on the cover of the book Pod Kamenim Nebom (English: Under the Stone Sky), 1972 | |
| Born | 1935 |
| Died | 2011 |
Biography
edit
Milutin Veljković was born in 1935 in the village of Gornja Bela Reka near Zaječar. In the summer of 1969, 34-year-old Milutin went to the southeast of Serbia. He intended to spend 15 months in the unexplored Samar Cave. The cave, which is about two kilometers long, is located near the village of Kopajkošara.[3] He wanted to explore it, but also to break the world record for the longest time spent consecutively underground. The previous record was held by Henri Fiout, a French man who remained underground for 109 days.[4]
Veljković entered the cave on June 24, 1969, and left it 15 months later, on September 29, 1970.[5] He set a new record for the longest stay underground that, as of 2024, has not yet been broken.[6] He also kept a diary in which he described in detail the daily activities he practiced during his stay in the cave.[7]
Shortly after this, Veljković also wrote a book based on the diary he kept, which was called Under the Stone Sky.[8]
Legacy
editThe documentary Speleonaut / Under the Stone Sky, directed by Sonja Đekić, was filmed about him.[9]
In 2021, Spanish athlete Beatriz Flamini attempted to break the record set by Veljković. Although she spent 500 days living inside of a cave in Grenada, a brief excursion to the exit of the cave midway through her stint disqualified her from beating the record.[10]
References
edit- ^ Тодоровић, Тома. "Како је Милутин Вељковић под земљом оборио Гинисов рекорд". Politika Online. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
- ^ "Човечанство је 'освајало' Месец, а Милутин је у пећини разматрао насељавање других планета". Радио-телевизија Србије. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ "'Спелеонаут' — Под каменим небом премијерно на ФАФ-у". Филмске радости. 19 November 2018. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ Недељковић, Урош (19 November 2018). "Спелеонаут: Филм о Милутину Вељковићу који је провео 15 месеци сам у пећини". Даљине. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ "Оживела прича о српској пећини Самар: Ту је Милутин зазидан самовао 464 дана са псом и мачком". Курир. 28 November 2016. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ "Субота, 23. септембар". Serbian Outdoor. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 November 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ Стаменковић, Сузана (29 November 2018). "Милутин под каменим небом". Ново јутро. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ "464 Days in a Cave – This Is How a Serb broke a Guinness World Record". Serbia. 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ Радосављевић, Р. (28 November 2018). "Незаборавни подвиг Милутина Вељковића". Вечерње новости. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
- ^ Max, D. T. (21 January 2024). "The Woman Who Spent Five Hundred Days in a Cave". The New Yorker. Retrieved 10 February 2024.