Molly
Carlson
Canada
·
Cliff Diving
Date of birth | September 23, 1998 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Fort Frances, Ontario |
Age | 27 |
Nationality | Canada |
Career start | 2021 |
Discipline | Cliff Diving |
Finding Her Footing
Not since a certain trailblazing champion arrived on the scene in 2016 has a cliff diving debutante made such an instant and impressive impact. When the World Series restarted in 2021, not many in the cliff diving world knew the name Molly Carlson, but by the end of the year, the 2014 Canadian Youth Olympian had cemented her status as one of the women’s top contenders.
Having based her decision to compete as a cliff diver on the results of a social media poll, where “99% of the responses were ‘yes’, other than my mother”, Carlson made her memorable debut at Saint-Raphaël on the French Riviera. Three exceptional dives helped secure a second-place finish, with only the champion Rhiannan Iffland ahead of her.
Ever since her unforgettable debut at Saint-Raphaël on the French Riviera, the TikTok sensation has been a perennial threat to nine-time champion Rhiannan Iffland.
Following her rookie season, in which she made it onto three podiums and bagged silver at the World Aquatics High Diving qualifier, the bubbly Canadian earned a permanent ticket and hasn’t looked back since.
Climbing the Ranks
In her first appearance as a permanent diver, the Montreal-based athlete added her name to the list of World Series competition winners with an impressive victory at the 2022 season opener in Boston, before six more second places secured her a runner-up spot behind Iffland.
The next two seasons followed a similar pattern, as Carlson missed the podium just once in 13 competitions and picked up three more victories – including an emotional win on home soil in Montreal in 2024 – and she is still the only diver to take victory from Iffland in the past 35 stops.
At the start of the 2025 season, Carlson suffered a frightening slip from the platform in Polignano a Mare, which in turn ended her chances of pushing once again for the King Kahekili Trophy. However, she didn't let the setback dent her confidence and she returned at the final event of the season, where she secured a second place finish.
Despite her supreme consistency and quality, which has also yielded back-to-back golds in the High Diving World Cup, her efforts to topple the champion in the World Series have fallen just short.
Beyond the Dive
As well as being one of the best cliff divers on the planet, Carlson is also creating a huge social impact as a world-renowned content creator. Taking inspiration from her own mantra of self-love, body positivity and overcoming fears, she founded the #BraveGang movement – a 4-million-strong community which empowers and encourages people to share stories of bravery and uplift one another. She fulfilled a dream when she was invited to the 2024 Paris Games as a creator. At age 27, she was named one of North America's brightest young entrepreneurs on Forbes' prestigious 30 Under 30 list for 2026.
In 2026, Carlson took bravery to a whole new level, quite literally. For Discovery Channel's Shark Week, she performed the highest freefall dive in Shark Week history, leaping from a helicopter into a Plexiglas cage surrounded by sharks. Just weeks later, she pushed herself even further by diving from a 27-metre platform, the height men compete from, a personal challenge she had set herself to accomplish before turning 28.
What's Next
After an injury-filled 2025 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, Molly will once again aim to empower herself from the 21m platform as she goes in search of a first King Kahekili Trophy in 2026. She's already off to a strong start, landing on the podium with a second-place finish at the season opener in Bali, Indonesia.
Career Highlights
2026
- 2nd Place: 2026 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Bali, Indonesia)
- 2nd Place: 2026 World Aquatics World Cup -- 20m (Fort Lauderdale, USA)
2025
- 3rd Place: 2025 World Aquatics World Cup -- 20m (Porto Flavia, Italy)
2024
- 2nd Place Overall: 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series
- 1st Place: 2024 World Aquatics World Cup -- 20m (Manama, Bahrain)
- 2nd Place: 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Antalya, Türkiye)
- 1st Place: 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Montreal, Canada)
- 2nd Place: 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Oslo, Norway)
- 3rd Place: 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Causeway Coast, Ireland)
- 3rd Place: 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Polignano a Mare, Italy)
- 3rd Place: 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Boston, USA)
- 1st Place: 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Athens, Greece)
2023
- 2nd Place: 2023 World Aquatics Championships (Doha, Qatar)
- 2nd Place Overall: 2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series
- 1st Place: 2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina)
- 2nd Place: 2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Polignano a Mare, Italy)
- 2nd Place: 2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Paris, France)
- 2nd Place: 2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series (Boston, USA)
- 1st Place: 2023 World Aquatics High Diving World Cup (Fort Lauderdale, USA)
2022
- 2nd Place Overall: 2022 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series
2021
- 3rd Place Overall: 2021 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series