Montreal-based diver Molly Carlson readies first 27-metre cliff dive attempt Aug. 27

Montreal-based cliff diver Molly Carlson is preparing for her most ambitious dive yet: a 27-metre plunge scheduled for August 27.

The 27-year-old athlete is stepping up from her previous personal best of 22 to 23 metres — a leap that will match the men's professional cliff diving competition standard. Women typically compete from 20 to 22 metres.

"I'm 27 years old right now and the men compete from 27 metres in my sport," Carlson said. "I'm super proud of all the heights I've jumped off of, but my highest has only been like 22, 23 meters. And I knew that I have always wanted to push and see what my body was capable of."

The dive comes weeks after Carlson made history during Discovery's Shark Week, becoming the first person to plunge from a moving helicopter into a shark cage in the Bahamas. That experience, which she initially resisted due to a lifelong fear of sharks, taught her how extreme focus silences the anxiety she manages daily.

Carlson, a member of Canada's senior national high diving team, has placed second at the 2022, 2023, and 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. With over four million social media followers, she founded the BraveGang community for people to share stories of overcoming fear.

Her team will record the August 27 dive and release it on her YouTube channel at 1 p.m. that day.