Natalia Molchanova, regarded as the World’s greatest competitive free diver, has been presumed drowned. Molchanova was teaching a private freediving lesson off the coast of Spain with friends, and had gone down for a recreational dive herself, when she didn’t come to the surface. Her friends called the authorities, who searched the surrounding area for two days with helicopters, underwater robots and boats. The authorities have stated that it is believed that Molchanova encountered a strong current while swimming down to 115 feet without fins. Molchanova was known as the ‘queen’ of freediving, and could hold her breath for up to nine minutes. At 53, born in Russia, Molchanova held an impressive 41 World records and 23 World Titles. Freedivers hold their breaths for minutes at a time, while they swim to depths of 200 feet or more on a single breath. Freediving is arguably one of the most challenging extreme sports, and requires extensive training.Strong currents, shallow water black outs and/or the loss of consciousness, as well as the expected extreme pressure on ones lungs, are all very real risks that come with free diving. Free diving is currently governed by two world organizations: The AIDA International (International Association for Development of Apnea)^[13] and CMAS (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques – World Underwater Federation).  Molchanova was very knowledgeable about the physiology of free diving. She was on the faculty of Moscow’s Russian State University of Physical Education, Sport, Youth and Tourism. She was also the President of the Freediving Federation of Russia. MORE