Cliff Diver Molly Carlson Makes History as First Woman to Dive Off Iceberg

NEED TO KNOW

• Canadian cliff diver Molly Carlson became the first woman to dive from a free-standing iceberg
• Carlson and Red Bull released a documentary showing her learning to climb ice and complete the historic dive
• She described the dive as “definitely the scariest thing I’ve ever done”

Cliff diver Molly Carlson made history with Red Bull.

The 28-year-old professional cliff diver became the first woman to dive from a free-standing iceberg, jumping 50 feet above water off the Newfoundland coast in Canada.

In a documentary shared on YouTube by Carlson and Red Bull, the Ontario-born athlete shared her experience training for months before the historic 50-foot dive. “They can split, collapse or roll without warning,” she tells viewers.

In one scene, Carlson tells her partner, fellow professional high-diver Aidan Heslop, that the stunt is “so much more dangerous than we thought.”

Under the guidance of longtime ice climber Will Gadd, Carlson performed her highest backwards dive yet. Before that, however, she had to learn how to climb the ice. Gadd mentored her through the experience, and in an interview, she described him as “almost my dad in this story,” per Red Bull.

“He’s the one keeping me safe,” she said. “He’s the one teaching me. He’s the one making sure I understand what we’re getting into.”

The athlete and influencer — who has fostered a loyal online community called the Brave Gang, in which she encourages her millions of followers to practice bravery and self-love — admitted that jumping from icebergs, and even climbing them, is “incredibly dangerous” and described the dive as “definitely the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”

“I felt like I was in the air for like 10 minutes,” she said.

Carlson, who has publicly shared she deals with anxiety, told Red Bull her historic feat felt like “therapy on the ice wall” and “represented so much more than diving.” She added, “You only see 10 percent of the iceberg on the surface. People can be struggling under the surface, and people can have so much more going on than what they show. I felt like this project represented that perfectly.”

“I’m doing this for all the people that might be scared to show what’s under the surface,” Carlson said.

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Before Carlson became the first woman to complete the iceberg dive, Red Bull diver Orlando Duque became the first man to dive from an iceberg in 2018.

Read the original article on People