--- title: Free Diver Natalia Molchanova Missing, Presumed Dead description: Free diver Natalia Molchanova is missing and presumed dead after she disappeared during a dive in Spanish waters on Aug. 2. canonical: https://time.com/3985090/free-diver-diving-natalia-molchanova/ author: Alissa Greenberg article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-05T08:28:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:39:40.922Z article:section: Sports og:title: Legendary Free Diver Natalia Molchanova Presumed Dead og:description: She failed to surface after a dive off of the Spanish island of Formentera og:url: https://time.com/3985090/free-diver-diving-natalia-molchanova/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt351a60d417347e2d/69885dec5f570f941bb1cc41/natalia-molchanova-diver-presumed-dead.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Natalia Molchanova og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Legendary Free Diver Natalia Molchanova Presumed Dead twitter:description: She failed to surface after a dive off of the Spanish island of Formentera twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt351a60d417347e2d/69885dec5f570f941bb1cc41/natalia-molchanova-diver-presumed-dead.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The World's Greatest Free Diver Is Missing and Presumed Dead in Spanish Waters by [Alissa Greenberg](https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Aug 5, 2015 8:28 AM UTC  Natalia Molchanova in 2005. Natalia Molchanova in 2005.Jacques Munch—AFP/Getty Images by [Alissa Greenberg](https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/) ## Alissa Greenberg Aug 5, 2015 8:28 AM UTC Natalia Molchanova, regarded by many as the greatest free diver in the history of the sport, is [missing](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/05/sports/natalia-molchanova-champion-free-diver-is-missing-near-ibiza.html?%5Fr=1) and presumed dead after she disappeared during a dive off the Spanish island of Formentera on Aug. 2. Molchanova, who set 41 world records and won 23 world championships in the sport, was diving for fun with friends close to the village of La Savina in an area where currents can fluctuate powerfully, the _New York Times_ reports. Because she was diving for leisure and not to set a record, she was not attached to the line that divers often use to mark depth and guard against emergencies. Her personal records in competition include a dive of 233 feet without the use of fins and almost 300 feet with a monofin. She also held the world record for “static apnea,” in which a diver floats face-down in a pool, managing to stay 9 minutes 2 seconds without taking a breath. Search efforts begun after her disappearance continued for two days, but her son, Alexey Molchanov, who is also a respected free diver, told the _Times_ on August 4 that she is now not expected to be found alive. “Free diving is not only sport, it’s a way to understand who we are,” Molchanova said in an interview with the _Times_ last year. “When we go down, if we don’t think, we understand we are whole. We are one with world.” \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/05/sports/natalia-molchanova-champion-free-diver-is-missing-near-ibiza.html?%5Fr=1)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3985090/free-diver-diving-natalia-molchanova/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3985090/free-diver-diving-natalia-molchanova/"},"headline":"The World's Greatest Free Diver Is Missing and Presumed Dead in Spanish Waters","datePublished":"2015-08-05T08:28:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:39:40.922Z","description":"She set 41 world records and won 23 world championships in the sport","url":"https://time.com/3985090/free-diver-diving-natalia-molchanova/","keywords":["russia","Sports topic","Death","Spain","swimming","diving"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt351a60d417347e2d/69885dec5f570f941bb1cc41/natalia-molchanova-diver-presumed-dead.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alissa Greenberg","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alissa-greenberg/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt351a60d417347e2d/69885dec5f570f941bb1cc41/natalia-molchanova-diver-presumed-dead.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Natalia Molchanova","caption":"Natalia Molchanova","creditText":"Jacques Munch—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3985090/free-diver-diving-natalia-molchanova/","name":"The World's Greatest Free Diver Is Missing and Presumed Dead in Spanish Waters"}}]}] ```