World’s Greatest Free Diver Is Missing and Presumed Dead in Spanish Waters

World’s Greatest Free Diver Is Missing and Presumed Dead in Spanish Waters

Natalia Molchanova in 2005.

She set 41 world records and won 23 world championships in the sport

Natalia Molchanova, regarded by many as the greatest free diver in the history of the sport, is missingand 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 Timesreports. 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.”

WHO Seeks Virus Tests After Sewage Found in Rio’s Olympic Waters

WHO Seeks Virus Tests After Sewage Found in Rio’s Olympic Waters

A fisherman casts his line as birds fly over the Sao Conrado beach in Rio de Janeiro on Feb. 26, 2015.

Officials are concerned about athletes' health

(RIO DE JANEIRO) — The World Health Organization has asked the IOC to analyze virus levels in Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic waters, and the governing body of world sailing says it will start doing its own independent virus tests.

The moves come after an Associated Press investigation showed a serious health risk to Olympic athletes in venues around Rio rife with sewage.

In a statement to the AP, the World Health Organization said it suggested the International Olympic Committee start monitoring for viruses at the Rio venues.

“WHO has also advised the IOC to widen the scientific base of indicators to include viruses,” the statement said. “The risk assessment should be revised accordingly, pending the results of further analysis. The Rio Local Organizing Committee and the IOC are requested to follow WHO recommendations on treatment of household and hospital waste.”

A spokesman from the Rio organizing committee referred comment to the IOC, which is meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Olympic organizers and the Brazilian government have tested only for bacteria to decide if the water is safe. Many experts say viruses are a far bigger problem and need to be monitored.

The International Sailing Federation said independently it would start testing for viruses.

“We’re going to find someone who can do the testing for us that can safely cover what we need to know from a virus perspective as well as the bacteria perspective,” Peter Sowrey, chief executive of the ISF, said. “That’s my plan.”