A Canadian woman’s dizzying plunge from a 15-metre iceberg into 2°C water

Bare feet and bare hands. No hood either. A good neoprene suit and a few months of preparation were enough for Molly Carlson to achieve this historic dive on June 11 and revealed in a video on October 23. From the top of a 15 meter high iceberg, off the coast of Twillingate, Newfoundland, the Canadian diver jumped into water at 2 degrees Celsius.

Only a few boats ensured its safety. The images show her alone, launching herself with her back to the sea from her immense block of ice. With this jump, Molly Carlson becomes the first woman to perform such a stunt from an iceberg. Enough to mark the history of its discipline. “One of the most terrifying things I have ever done,” she confided a few minutes later in a documentary produced by her partner Red Bull. The sportswoman says she prepared for several months, particularly in ice climbing and cold water.

Born in 1998, Molly Carlson is a regular at diving. Starting as a gymnast until the age of nine, she quickly became one of Canada's best junior divers: seven junior national titles, participation in the 2014 Youth Olympic Games and finals at the Junior World Championships in 2014 and 2016. But this period was also marked by personal difficulties: intense anxiety, body dysmorphia and repeated wrist injuries — six operations in total. These constraints end up making traditional diving, with its head entry into the water, difficult to continue.

The turn towards high flying

During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, she discovered high diving and contacted Diving Canada. The athlete moved to Montreal, where there is a 20-meter platform at the Olympic Stadium, and switched to this discipline where entry into the water is done through the feet. She makes her international debut in 2021 on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series circuit. In her first event, in Saint-Raphaël, Molly Carlson finished second, then won three podiums during her rookie season and a silver medal in the world qualifications in Abu Dhabi. In 2024, she won several victories at the World Cup in Bahrain, Athens and Montreal.

This year, in addition to this record in freezing water, Molly Carlson is the winner of the competition in Polignano a Mare, a world-famous cove located in Puglia, in southern Italy. A revenge after her abandonment the previous year, following a fall of 22 meters injuring her foot. His victory in September allowed him to move up to second place in the overall World Series standings. Featured on the 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 sports list, Molly Carlson is also behind the #BraveGang movement on social media, focused on self-esteem, mental health and overcoming fears. Themes that resonate with his record in cold water and his sporting career.