Sportshour

Not by the Playbook’s Katie Smith is scouring the world’s surface for extraordinary stories – from the depths of the ocean to an extreme triathlon to the top of the world.Italian freediver Alessia Zecchini speaks from the Philippines where she has set her 40th world record, so what is it like descending down to depths of over 100 metres below the surface without oxygen? Alessia continues to dive in memory of her partner, Stephen Keenan who was killed diving in 2017. Their story is the subject of the Netflix film The Deepest Breath.Mitch Hutchcraft reflects on his gruelling seven month triathlon – from England to the top of Everest. To get there he swam, cycled, ran and trekked for over 13,000 kilometres across 20 different countries, taking 240 days to complete. Strong currents, near fatal accidents and stray dogs were just some of the challenges he encountered, but why did he do it?Runner Mirna Valerio swapped the classroom as a Spanish teacher for the rough and rugged terrain of the outdoors and the rough w