Tribute to the life of Natalia Molchanova - get a glimpse into the life of freediving legend Natalia Molchanova.
Natalia was a freediving world champion and the holder of 42 world records.
She remains the world’s most titled freediver ever, achieving world records in all freediving disciplines.
She won a total of 22 individual gold medals and two team gold medals at Freediving World Championships during her career.
On 25th September 2009, she became the first woman ever to pass 100m (328ft) of depth on a breath-hold in Constant Weight with a freedive to 101m (331ft).
Natalia was the president of the Freediving Federation.
She designed and established its educational program from beginner to instructor level.
Natalia shared her passion and knowledge of freediving both through her courses and with her university students in Moscow.
Today, thousands of freedivers have been trained by the Freediving Federation and several hundred instructors share Natalia’s knowledge with a new generation of freedivers.
In 2015, the presidency was passed to her son Alexey Molchanov, also a freediving world champion and record holder.
Natalia led research in freediver physiology and was interested in relaxation techniques and improving freediving performance and safety.
She was the author of many articles, books, and educational materials on freediving.
Much of her work has been translated into English.
Her love and passion for the sea are also reflected in poems she wrote and a short artistic movie she created, for which she received a number of festival awards.
Natalia’s life was about freediving.
Natalia’s aspiration was always to strive for safe and efficient freediving, and to achieve this through the provision of education and training, and producing the world’s best freediving equipment.
From Pulse
Picture this: recline comfortably, shut your eyes, exhale slowly, and draw in a deep breath, filling your lungs to capacity—then hold that breath.
As seconds trickle by, your focus narrows inward, honing in on your body.
Pressure builds in your chest, and your heartbeat becomes pronounced.
As the urge to inhale intensifies, you face a choice—succumb to immediate panic or delve deeper into a calm state, attempting to steady your heart rate, quiet your mind, and quell restlessness as your body braces for oxygen.
How long can you maintain this breath?
How long can you maintain this breath?
The average adult manages about 30 seconds.
Can you extend it to one minute?
Maybe two?
But can you imagine holding it for nine minutes and two seconds?
Natalia Molchanova achieved this feat, setting the women’s world record in static apnea—holding her breath motionless in a pool—in 2013.
Two years later, Molchanova, hailed by many as the greatest free diver in history, vanished off the coast of Spain during a leisure dive on a sunny August morning.
Her body was never recovered.
Before submerging that day, Molchanova had already secured 41 free diving records across various disciplines.
Before submerging that day, Molchanova had already secured 41 free diving records across various disciplines.
She could maintain motionless stillness in water, descend over 100 meters on a single breath, and traverse hundreds of feet underwater with or without weights.
Her favorite thrill?
Descending 25 meters and unclipping from an emergency rope line, allowing herself to sink freely.
“Freediving isn’t merely a sport; it’s a path to self-discovery,” Molchanova expressed in a 2014 interview.
“Freediving isn’t merely a sport; it’s a path to self-discovery,” Molchanova expressed in a 2014 interview.
“When we dive, free from thought, we realize our wholeness, our unity with the world. When we think, we create separation. On the surface, thoughts abound, cluttering our minds. Freediving helps reset this.”
Born in 1962, Molchanova initially pursued competitive swimming but paused at 20 to start a family. For two decades, she led a conventional life in Moscow, finding joy in riding scooters around the city until, at 40, she stumbled upon a magazine article about free diving, igniting a passion that catapulted her to the pinnacle of the sport within a decade.
The first 25 meters of a dive pose a challenge as our buoyant bodies resist sinking.
Born in 1962, Molchanova initially pursued competitive swimming but paused at 20 to start a family. For two decades, she led a conventional life in Moscow, finding joy in riding scooters around the city until, at 40, she stumbled upon a magazine article about free diving, igniting a passion that catapulted her to the pinnacle of the sport within a decade.
The first 25 meters of a dive pose a challenge as our buoyant bodies resist sinking.
Free divers often use weights to overcome this.
Beyond this depth, however, pressure transforms, causing the body to descend rapidly.
Mastery of this requires disciplined control over panic and the impulse to breathe.
During dives, Molchanova entered a state she termed “attention deconcentration,” akin to meditation.
During dives, Molchanova entered a state she termed “attention deconcentration,” akin to meditation.
It involved relinquishing thoughts, turning inward, heightening bodily awareness, and embracing sensation over contemplation.
Chemical shifts in deep dives induce nitrogen narcosis, altering consciousness.
Molchanova’s trained mental state enabled her to navigate this, recognizing when her body had endured enough.
Her accomplishments in diving led her to study physiology, eventually joining the faculty of Moscow’s Russian State University.
Her accomplishments in diving led her to study physiology, eventually joining the faculty of Moscow’s Russian State University.
Her diving prowess earned her the presidency of the Russian Free Dive Federation.
Yet, Molchanova cared little for accolades or records.
Yet, Molchanova cared little for accolades or records.
She found solace in the ocean’s depths, where she tested herself, surrendering to pressure, meditation, and an unknown world.
“Compared to the ocean, the pool is like running on a treadmill versus running in the forest,” she remarked.
Her underwater experiences inspired poetry and set records, blending academic prowess with poetic insight.
On August 2, 2015, Molchanova disappeared while diving off Formentera, Spain, with friends.
“Compared to the ocean, the pool is like running on a treadmill versus running in the forest,” she remarked.
Her underwater experiences inspired poetry and set records, blending academic prowess with poetic insight.
On August 2, 2015, Molchanova disappeared while diving off Formentera, Spain, with friends.
Despite her unparalleled skill, she never resurfaced.
Efforts to locate her proved futile.
Sara Campbell, a fellow free diver, lamented her loss, describing Molchanova as the greatest the world had seen.
In Molchanova’s own words:
From her poem “The Depth”
I have perceived non-existence The silence of the eternal dark, and the infinity. I went beyond the time, time poured into me And we became immovable. I lost my body in the waves Perceiving vacuum and quiet, Becoming like its blue abyss And touching on the oceanic secret. I’m going inwards recollecting What I am. I am made of light. I peer intensely: The depths reveal a breath I merge with it, And unto the world emerges.
Links :
In Molchanova’s own words:
From her poem “The Depth”
I have perceived non-existence The silence of the eternal dark, and the infinity. I went beyond the time, time poured into me And we became immovable. I lost my body in the waves Perceiving vacuum and quiet, Becoming like its blue abyss And touching on the oceanic secret. I’m going inwards recollecting What I am. I am made of light. I peer intensely: The depths reveal a breath I merge with it, And unto the world emerges.
Links :
- Molchanovs : The Extraordinary Life of Natalia Molchanova
