Natalia Vadimovna Molchanova (russian: Наталья Вадимовна Молчанова; 8 May 1962 – 2 August 2015) was a Russian champion

free diver Freediving, free-diving, free diving, breath-hold diving, or skin diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on apnea, breath-holding until resurfacing rather than the use of breathing apparatus such as scuba set, scuba gear. Besides the l ...

, multiple world record holder, and the former president of the Russian Free Dive Federation. She has been described as "possibly the world’s greatest freediver". Molchanova's son is Russian freediving champion

Alexey Molchanov Alexey Molchanov (russian: Алексей Олегович Молчанов, born 6 March 1987) is a Russian champion freediver, 34-time world champion (AIDA and CMAS), world record holder, and freediving promoter. He is also president of the " ...

. On 2 August 2015, Molchanova vanished in

Formentera Formentera (, ) is the smallest and most southerly island of the Pityusic Islands group (comprising Ibiza and Formentera, as well as various small islets), which belongs to the Balearic Islands autonomous community (Spain). It covers an area of ...

while giving a private lesson. Search efforts were abandoned on 5 August and she was presumed dead.

Personal life

Molchanova was born in 1962 in

Ufa Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...

Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик� ...

, then part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

.Oksana Gredzheva
Чемпионка мира-2005 по фридайвингу Наталья МОЛЧАНОВА
. free-diving.ru (interview in Russian) Molchanova had a son

Alexey Alexey, Alexei, Alexie, Aleksei, or Aleksey (russian: Алексе́й ; bg, Алексей ) is a Russian and Bulgarian male first name deriving from the Greek ''Aléxios'' (), meaning "Defender", and thus of the same origin as the Latin Ale ...

and daughter Oksana.

Career

Molchanova was the world's most decorated free diver ever, holding 41 world records at the time of her presumed death and winning 23 gold medals during her lengthy career. At the 2007 Freediving World Championships in

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, her winning time in the static discipline was better than the winning male gold medal. In September 2009, she became the first woman to pass 100 meters (328 ft.) diving with constant weight, in a dive to 101 meters (331 ft.) in

Sharm el Sheikh Sharm El Sheikh ( ar, شرم الشيخ, ), commonly abbreviated to Sharm, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 53,670 ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. Molchanova was also the first woman to dive on one breath through the

Blue Hole A blue hole is a large marine cavern or sinkhole, which is open to the surface and has developed in a bank or island composed of a carbonate bedrock (limestone or coral reef). Their existence was discovered in the late 20th century by fisherme ...

arch in

Dahab Dahab ( arz, دهب, , "gold") is a small Egyptian town on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, approximately northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh. Formerly a Bedouin fishing village, Dahab is now considered to be one of Egypt's most tre ...

, Egypt. Her record was a dive of 127 metres (417 ft.). She first trained in swimming, but semi-retired for approximately 20 years after giving birth. She resumed training, aged 40, and shifted from swimming to free diving. Her first free diving competition was the 2003 Russian championships in Moscow, where she set a national record. Her son is also a prominent free diving competitor. Molchanova later worked as a free diving instructor at the

Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism (SCOLIPE) (russian: Российский государственный университет физической культуры, спорта, молодёжи и тур ...

Disappearance

On 2 August 2015, Molchanova was reported missing after giving a private lesson dive near

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. She went down to a depth of 40 metres (131 ft.), not as deep as normal; but, caught by a current, without weights, she is thought to have been taken down. She never came up for air. Initial rescue and recovery efforts were unsuccessful. Search and rescue efforts continued for a few days, but she was eventually presumed dead by the search party, including her son,

. The Spanish

Civil Code A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...

provides that a missing person by

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

or amid a dangerous activity shall be declared deceased in absentia three months after a missing report.Spanish Civil Code
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World records

* Note 1: The two records from 2009, 101 m and 90 m, were repealed by the federation eight months after they had been set, due to the introduction of a new rule, which was then applied retroactively. * Note 2: Freediving#Competitive apnea defines the various Apnea codes. Record distances are in

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

s; duration times in minutes and seconds. Summary: * STA - 9 min. 02 sec. * DYN - 234 m * DNF - 182 m * CWT - 101 m * CNF - 69 m * FIM - 91 m * VWT - 127 m Clarification: * STA = Static apnea. Holding the breath as long as possible. * DYN = Dynamic apnea with fins. Diving as far as possible (horizontally) with the use of fins or a

monofin A monofin is a type of swimfin typically used in underwater sports such as finswimming, free-diving and underwater orienteering. It consists of a single or linked control surface (fluid dynamics), surfaces attached to both of the diver's feet, ...

. * DNF = Dynamic apnea without fins. Diving as far as possible (horizontally) without fins. * CWT = Constant weight with fins. Diving as deep as possible with the use of fins or a monofin. * CNF = Constant weight without fins. Diving as deep as possible without fins. * FIM = Free immersion. Diving as deep as possible by pulling down and up the rope. * VWT = Variable weight apnea. Using a sled for descent, pulling back up along a line or swimming up with or without fins. * NLT = No-limits apnea. Using a sled for descent, and an inflatable bag for ascent, or any other method or technique.

Personal bests

References

External links

*
Current Freediving World Records
at International Association for the Development of Freediving (AIDA) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Molchanova, Natalia 1962 births 2010s missing person cases 2015 deaths Missing people Missing person cases in Spain People declared dead in absentia Sport deaths in Spain Sportspeople from Ufa Russian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Russian freedivers Underwater diving deaths