Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov in action against Hans Niemann of the U.S. during the Diving Chess Competition in Cape Town, South Africa, on December 4, 2025. (Photo by Esa Alexander/Reuters)
Julia Wheeler, 31, from Perth, Western Australia, has been a hands reach away from pilot whales, Bull sharks, manta rays and more during her time diving without any breathing equipment. Here real life mermaid Julia is diving with manta rays in Bali and looks incredible swimming among them while holding her breath for four and a half minute. (Photo by Julia Wheeler/Caters News Agency)
In 2007, I graduated from Lomonosov’s Moscow State University in the department of Zoology. I specialized in the study of invertebrate animals, with an emphasis on squid brains. Soon after, I began working at the White Sea Biological Station (WSBS) as a senior laborer. WSBS has a dive station, which is great for all sorts of underwater scientific needs, and after 4 years working there, I became chief of our diving team. I now organize all WSBS underwater projects and dive by myself with a great pleasure and always with a camera.
A large bull walrus returns to the shores of Prins Karl Forland after diving and feeding on clams. (Photo by Paul Nicklen/National Geographic). Svalbard, Norway, 2011
A boy dives into the water during training in Kyiv's Liko Diving School, July 3, 2024. According to Ukraine's first lady, more than 2 million children have fled the country. The departures have impacted various sports. (Photo by Alex Babenko/AP Photo)
In this handout image provided by Red Bull, Jessica Macaulay of Canada dives from the 22 metre platform during the final competition day of the sixth stop of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series on September 11, 2022 at Sisikon, Switzerland. (Photo by Romina Amato/Red Bull via Getty Images)