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An Australian stuntman has set a new Guinness World Record by swallowing 18 swords at the same time.
Chayne Hultgren, aka The Space Cowboy, swallowed the 72-centimetre blades in Sydney today.
The 31-year-old said he was thrilled to have made history, the Daily Telegraph reports.
"It's amazing,'' he said. "It is definitely one of my greatest achievements so far.''
Hultgren began practising the art of sword swallowing at the age of 16 when he swallowed his first hose.
A few years later he began using stainless steel blades.
He said his latest feat was not dangerous, but noted that "it wasn't recommended by my doctor''.
"I don't just straight away grab 18 blades and shove them down my throat - you've got to practise a lot and build up to it.
"So I stretch my throat with hoses and use a few different techniques to basically enable me to do what, until now, has been impossible.''
Hultgren beat his own previous record of swallowing 17 swords - also a Guinness World Record, which he set in 2008.
