A GAME OF THRONES: PART TWO

The untimely death of the freediving Queen, Natalia Molchanova, like the falling of a redwood giant, has left a gapping hole in the freediving canopy. Her reign at the top lasted nearly 12 years and included 43 World records. In all likelihood, she was, and always will be, the greatest freediver of our time.

But her absence has created an opportunity for a new generation of female freedivers to assert themselves at the top of the game. Like young saplings they can reach for the sun and drag our sport up, from out of the shadow, which has been cast by the loss of our mighty Queen, and into the light and times of a new era.

​In Part One we looked at five worthy contenders who will battle it out over the coming year, racing to fill the void that has been created and for the crown of  'Worlds deepest Woman'. 

In this edition I will profile five more. So once again, in no particular order....

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THE CONTENDERS

MISUZU OKAMOTO, 
JAPAN

The deepest woman in AIDA last year, Misuzu Okamoto is officially the third deepest woman of all time. With victories at the World Champs in Cypress and at Vertical blue for her specialist discipline of Constant weight, will she continue her domination in 2016?!
In the times I have seen her dive, as a safety diver or spectator, I have never once seen her come up on edge. Her progress appears only to be slowed by equalisation, but she has, consistently, been improving year by year, if only one metre at a time.
With a current personal best of 93m, with a small break through in equalisation, she could, realistically, be the next woman to 100m. With Vertical Blue 2016 only a few months away, Misuzu is sure to be undergoing preparation. We look forward to seeing Misuzu arriving in top form and continuing her pursuit into the blue abyss.

ALENA KONEČNÁ(FORMERLY ZABLOUDILOVA), 31
​CZECH REPUBLIC

In 2011 and 2012, there was one female freediver who emerged who looked as if she could challenge Natalia for the top spot of the sport(at least in the ocean). A former Czech National swimmer, Alena Konečná burst onto the depth scene at the 2011 Kalamata depth World Champs. She picked up gold in the CNF and silver in the FIM. The following year, she was the deepest female diver at Triple Depth(and in fact the second deepest athlete overall in the entire competition) and again at Vertical Blue. The overall results that she posted at the 2012 Vertical Blue still stand as the best female results since the competition was opened up that year. And when you look at the total points for depth(accumulative of the three disciplines), only Natalia stands above her. When it looked like 2014 would be the year she would challenge for the dominance, like Ashley Chapman, life took a turn. Now the mother of a beautiful daughter, Ali has been hinting at a return. Within 2 weeks of training last year in Egypt, she quickly returned to 86m. One can only wonder what she can achieve with a full year of training under her belt!

MARIANNA KRUPNITSKAYA, 25 YEARS OLD
​RUSSIA

Marianna Krupnitskaya, notably was absent from the Depth World Championships last year. After her victory and performances at VB 2014, she looked poised to continue her progress up the all time rankings and be a major player in Cyprus.
At Vertical Blue, the worlds most prestigious freediving event, she ranked either first or second in all three disciplines and won overall in dominant fashion. Her deepest dive on record is to 86m CWT, a dive which she did with relative ease.
With Marianna making her return at VB 2016, the competition is set to really heat up, with Marianna, last years champion Sayuri, Jeanine and Sofia all vying for the title. This Vertical Blue promises to be the most exciting yet!

ANNELIE POMPE, 34 YEARS OLD
​SWEDEN

Annelie Pompe is quite probably, the Worlds DEEPEST and HIGHEST athlete on the planet! Aside from being a former freediving World record holder(126mVWT), she has also conquered the highest mountain on earth, Everest.
In 2014 she attempted to claim the Constant weight World record with a dive to 102m. Whilst she was successful in making it all the way down, she didn't quite make it all the way back to the surface. It is reported that in training, she has been, quite comfortably to within only a couple of meters from the current record still held by Natalia(101m).
So the question is, will Annelie return to the competition forefront this year and will she have another crack at the World record?!

NATALIIA ZHARKOVA, 
​UKRAINE

Nataliia, like Alena, is a former National level swimmer. She too made her depth debut back in 2011 and has been making strong, consistent progress ever since. At the 2013 Depth World champs, overall only Natalia Molchanova topped her, as she picked up two silvers and a bronze.
Last year she was rumoured to have been below 90m in constant weight, and there are only three woman ranking above her on the all time list for no-fins.
So, with such a well rounded game, will 2016 be a year that Nataliia continues her progress, onwards and deeper into the blue abyss and stakes her claim to the crown?!

I have now profiled ten athletes who I feel, have a chance of cementing their place at the top of the sport. Will ONE emerge?! Will it be more than a one horse race?! Or will it be someone else completely?!
Writing this article has not been an easy task. There are more than a few women that deserve mention that could easily have been on this list. These include(but are not limited to) multiple world record holder Sara Campbell(who may have retired from actively competing, having been absent since 2011), Japans Tomoka Fukuda(a crowd favourite and perrennial achiever) and Slovakia's Katie Linczényiová(Third place at VB 2015 and another up and coming athlete). All have achieved incredible results in the past(all three have made dives to 90m or more!) and I hope that 2016 will be a great year for them!
​If you think I have missed someone, HAVE YOUR SAY in the comments section below! 

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With such a long list of talent(and beauty!) the future looks bright for competitive freediving. These young ladies already deserve commendation for their successes and achievements. It's going to take a special sort of person to fill Natalia's shoes, someone with more than just a high work ethic, perseverance and skill level. They are going to need to possess the SELF BELIEF that they are capable of becoming the greatest. For those that accept and believe that Natalia's mountain of accomplishments is too steep to climb, have already conceded defeat. And, perhaps its going to take more than just athletic prowess. For a true Queen not only rules her subjects, she also gives back.

Our sport needs these woman to become the face of competitive freediving, to help with its growth and image, and to inspire the next generation of freedivers.

So, with all that has been said, I hope that we do see a new Queen emerge, one who can rule with all of the strengths and qualities that Natalia did so before her.

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