That was freaking sad. He couldn't have run out of air in 4-5 seconds, he just got some water up his nose.
Drowning, whether real or simulated, is not as simple as holding your breath and waiting for the air to run out. That disregards the mental awareness of helplessness, along with the instinct to breathe regularly.
I've been swimming since I was 2. I was on 2 swim teams, I taught both kids and adults how to swim, and I held a job as a lifeguard. I could swim one and a half lengths of the pool underwater without coming up for air.
I haven't been in a pool in a year, and in that time my arms and legs have weakened from the disease to the point that I was no longer sure how well I could swim. This past weekend I found out, when I attended my nephew's birthday party at the pool.
I took the precaution of bringing a floatation device with me into the water. I walked deeper and deeper until I couldn't touch bottom. Tried kicking; too weak. Tried stroking; too weak. Oh well, no more swimming for me.
That's when the floatation device slipped out of my grasp. I went straight down.
My very first thought was "It would be so embarrassing for someone with my experience to drown in 6 feet of water". That thought lasted for about half a second, and was instantly followed by complete and utter panic. The same panic that lifeguard training tells me a victim feels, that I knew I would never experience. I flailed, I swallowed water, and by pure chance my hand hit the lane rope and grabbed on.
Mind you, I was not restrained, no one intended me malice, I was in a very safe place...and yet the panic was complete, total, and almost immediate. It's instinctual and without lots of training, unavoidable.
Drowning is
nothing like just getting water up your nose.