Morgane Herculano has a recurring nightmare about cliff diving where she forgets to wear a suit and hopes no one will notice. Fortunately, that has not yet happened in real life.
The Swiss diver continues to climb the rankings on the World Series and makes it look easy!
However, even the professionals who make a living from cliff diving get nervous in uncomfortable conditions like intense wind. Herculano’s point-of-view from the platform will make your heart race.
Who is Morgane Herculano?
Having made history as the first female from Switzerland to compete in the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, Morgane Herculano returned for her third season on the tour as a wildcard in 2026. The Geneva-born diver turned her love of flips at her local pool into a career.
Herculano made her debut with the Swiss national team in 2013. She moved to the United States five years later to compete at Harvard and ultimately graduated from the university with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Energy and Environment. If that was not impressive enough, she also won the Ivy League Championship in the 1-meter spring board, earned All-Ivy first team honors, and qualified for the NCAA Championships in all three seasons. It was a successful college career!
Although she is an athlete first, Herculano has a massive following on social media as a content creator with more than 150,000 followers on TikTok and more than 250,000 followers on Instagram. The 26-year-old does an awesome job of bringing people into the sport of diving on its most simplistic level while documenting her career in a way that does proper justice to its challenges.
“I want to show people they can be everything: courageous and delicate, sexy and smart, athletic and intellectual.”
Her brand reflects exactly that. She brings you right to the edge of a platform that most people would not dare approach!
Herculano, a 23-time Swiss national champion in springboard competition, qualified for the European championships in 2022. After a decade of success in the pool, she decided to set her sights even higher and made the switch to cliff diving.
She made her debut in the sport at the High Diving World Championships in 2023 and finished 11th at the same event that next year, which earned her an invitation to the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. Herculano placed 11th in Boston and 10th in Montreal during her debut season in 2024. Her lone appearance of 2025 saw her land in eighth place in Polignano a Mare. She returned to the 21-meter platform in 2026 and currently ranks inside the top 10 of the standings.
Cliff diving in high wind is SCARY, even for the pros!
Morgane Herculano never thought about the Olympics or winning the King Kahekili Trophy as kid. Her goal was always to live a life that she loves, which is a dream that most certainly came true.
Cliff divers compete in their sport at some of the most incredible, picturesque locations in the world. Even a simple gainer looks euphoric when the Swiss mountains are in the background.
However, cliff divers must push their bodies to the absolute limit on every single dive. They take up to 10 Gs when they hit the water, which is the same force as a Formula One driver.
There is not any room for error.
Look at how close her head gets to the platform as she falls to the water below:
Here is a great look at the process from start to finish:
And, unlike their indoor counterparts, cliff divers have to account for the weather. They don’t get the luxury of a climate-controlled pool. The elements add an extra challenge. Especially when it is windy.
Herculano shared a behind-the-scenes look at how she prepares for the wind and it will make your stomach churn. Even she, a professional, gets heebie-jeebies.
Cliff diving in high wind is no joke but Herculano makes it look easy. Kind of. Even though she conquered her fears and landed safely in the pool, you can feel her nerves through the camera. Are your palms sweating or is it just me?