Natalia Molchanova’s body has been never found after she went down to a depth of 40 meters (131 feet). Later, she was assumed to have died in the deep waters, where her true passion was. However, the actual cause of her death is still unknown.
If there’s one thing that no one can deny, it’s that Natalia Vadimovna Molchanova performed incredible things in the extreme sport of free diving as both a woman and an athlete in general. As a result, she has acted as an inspiration to many, including none other than Italian champion Alessia Zecchini, whose story was included in Netflix‘s The Deepest Breath.
Natalia Molchanova was a former president of the Russian Free Dive Federation as well as a Russian champion free diver. She has been labeled as the world’s greatest freediver. However, she went missing on August 2, 2015, after providing a private instruction dive near Formentera, Spain. She never came up for air.
Later, the initial rescue and recovery efforts were futile. Search and rescue attempts continued for a few days, but the search group, which included her son eventually declared her dead. As a result, people have recently been curious to learn what really happened to Natalia Molchanova and wonder if her body was ever found after she was claimed dead. Well, let’s find it out together.
Natalia Molchanova’s Body Has Never Been Found Since Her Disappearance On August 2, 2015!
Natalia Molchanova has been described as possibly the world’s greatest free diver for her record dive of 127 meters affinity for deep waters. That’s only half of why her abrupt disappearance off the coast of Spain on August 2, 2015, left the entire globe perplexed — the 53-year-old had been conducting a private diving class near the island of Formentera when it happened. However, she was later assumed dead, but her body has never been found until now.
Natalia Molchanova’s body was never found.
Image Source: The New Yorker
Natalia Molchanova went down to a depth of 40 meters (131 feet), which is not as deep as usual, but she is supposed to have been dragged down by a current without weights which led her to death. However, the actual cause of her death is still unknown. According to the Spanish Civil Code, a person who goes missing as a result of a shipwreck or during a dangerous activity is deemed dead in absentia three months after being reported missing.
In fact, no direct attempts to locate her dead body have been made since the initial search. The rationale is that the deep seas were her true passion, therefore it’s poetic that she’s still there. Later, on August 5, 2015, her son, Alexey Molchanov (@alexeymolchanov), who is now a Russian free-diving champion, told The New York Times,
It seems she’ll stay in the sea. I think she would like that.
More About Natalia Molchanova, Including Her Background, Career & Achievement!
Natalia Molchanova was born on May 8, 1962, in Ufa, Bashkortostan, then part of the Soviet Union, and she was relatively young when she fell in love with the waters, only for it to grow through the years. It’s no wonder that she launched her career as a natural, skilled competitive swimmer in her teens before electing to walk away from the spotlight to raise a family.
In the early 1980s, she supposedly married sports enthusiast Oleg Molchanova, with whom she soon welcomed a daughter Oksana and a son Alexey in the beautiful city of Volgograd, Russia.
Natalia Molchanova fell in love with water in her childhood.
Image Source: The Inertia
Later, Natalia Molchanova worked as a children’s sports coach in the surrounding area, until her marriage fell apart, her children grew up, and she sought peace in free diving. Then she decided to return to competitive athletics, but this time as a free diver – she made her debut at 41 in the summer of 2003, only to break record after record. By mid-2015, this patriotic Russian athlete had become the most decorated in her field, owning 41 world records, 23 titles, and a plethora of other placings.
Similarly, Natalia Molchanova’s other records include constant weight apnea (diving as deep as possible with a monofin on one breath), free immersion apnea (diving without propulsion equipment), and static apnea (floating face down while holding a single breath).
Furthermore, at the 2007 Slovenia World Event, her static domain winning time was faster than the male gold medalist’s, and she later became the first woman to pass 100 meters while free diving with constant weight and the first woman to successfully navigate the perilous Blue Hole arch in Dahab, Egypt.
