Who Are Alessia Zecchini And Stephen Keenan? -

As demonstrated by Netflix’s latest documentary series, The Deepest Breath, Alessia Zechinni and Stephen Keenan are enigmas of the freediving world. A hundred steps ahead of professional swimming, fifty steps ahead of mermaiding and ten steps ahead of Scuba diving, free diving is the deadliest water sport. It doesn’t matter how many safety measures are put in place and how skilled the diver is, nothing can compete against the merciless nature of the ocean. Laura McGann’s documentary highlights the same.

While the ocean is an epitome of opulence and serenity, its crests hold the ability to suppress hundreds of people within it. Numbness is the least of the problems.Blackouts are so common that not even professional divers are left untouched by them. Despite The Deepest Breath shedding light on these professionals, are you wondering exactly who is Alessia Zexhinni and Stephen Keenan? Me, too!

Who Are Alessia Zecchini And Stephen Keenan?

Utilizing drones, waterproof cameras and such tech gadgets, McGann delivers a heart-stopping tale of these freedivers. Alessia Zecchini is an Italian freediver, born on June 30, 1992. Since her early childhood, Alessia has been fond of the sport, thanks to Natalia Molchanova, the renowned water diver. In her early teens, Alessia started her professional training and soon joined the league of well-established freedivers.

Ocean isn’t Alessia’s passion but she made sure to make the blue brine her profession, too, As years went by, Alessia kept on climbing the ranks and diving into the depths of the ocean. Currently, Zecchini prides herself on the several World records registered under her name aside from conquering the Italian freediving records. With over a dozen gold medals and numerous silvers and bronzes, Alessia is one of the best freedivers in the world. She proudly boasts the accolade of being the first woman to have dived deeper than the -100 meters mark.

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Who Is Stephen Keenan?

Similar to Alessia, Stephen Keenan, too, was born an explorer to an adventurer himself, Peter Keenan. He was on a quest to search for a sense of fulfilment throughout his life. He finally found it in the crests of the ocean. Stephan began freediving at a young age, having a deep affinity towards the droplets of water. As Stephan’s career progressed, he established several records, the Irish record particularly earned him a decent reputation. His career took a three-sixty-degree turn after he rescued Natalia’s son, Alexey Molchanov and became a safety diver.

In the universe of freediving, the highest-rank holders are safety divers and Stephen became one of those. They are essentially positioned higher on the spectrum due to the deadly risks they take for the diver. Stephen took this ordeal to another level by establishing a safety school in Dahab, Egypt close to the hell hole aka the Blue Hole. This perilous crest is renowned for sucking people into it, only to leave their corpses aside. As his family and friends recall in Laura’s documentary, Stephen was one of the most reliable safety divers. Alas, he couldn’t survive the Blue Hole.

Alessia Zechinni’s Take On The Deepest Breath Documentary

Alessia and Stephen collaborated together in 2017 but their professional relationship was engulfed by an intense emotion. The duo inched closer soon but fate and the merciless ocean had other plans. After the nerve-chilling incident of 2017 in Egypt, Alessia was shock struck but soon overcame the incident. Instead of giving up her career and immersing in grief, Alessia went on to capture more records and conquer more waves.

While both Alessia and Stephen have received–and the former keeps receiving–popularity, Laura’s documentary has proved to be a milestone in the fame game. Since Stephen is no more, it is natural only his family members, friends and colleagues are present in The Deepest Breath. However, Alessia is alive and kicking but hasn’t appeared in the documentary. Though the reason remains wrapped tightly, it is considered that Alessia doesn’t want to dig old wounds.

McGann, too, aspires to do no such thing. Instead, she wants to highlight the gravity of the situation formed underwater by a freediver at the time of a blackout. According to Laura, she broke down into tears upon hearing Alessia and Stephen’s story. She wanted to show it to the world and make us cry, too, it seems. When Zechinni witnessed the documentary, all she could say was a simple thank you–a token of understanding.

The Deepest Breath is now premiering on Netflix in all its heart-wrenching, goosebumps-inducing glory. The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival initially. But it is now available for online streaming, too!