A new Netflix documentary explores Italian free diver Alessia Zecchini's quest to break a world record.
The diver, who was in a relationship with the late Stephen Keenan when he died, is the focus of new film The Deepest Breath.
Who is Alessia Zecchini?
Alessia Zecchini is a free diver from Italy.
She discovered her passion and talent for the sport at a young age and, by age 13, she was already out-competing her adult peers.
Alessia began her training in indoors pools, where worked up to hold her breath for over three minutes at a time.
She was then inspired to take to deep diving in the sea by sportswoman Natalia Molchanova.
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In 2015, Molchanova disappeared off the coast of Formentera, Spain, due to a freak water current and was later presumed dead.
Alessia almost quit the sport for good after Natalia's disappearance and it was her boyfriend, Stephen Keenan, who inspired her to continue.
Stephen later agreed to become her safety diver, a role that would sadly lead to his death in 2017.
Netflix's The Deepest Breath profiles as she attempts to break a world record with the help of Stephen.
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The film premiered in January 2023 at Sundance Film Festival.
How long can Alessia Zecchini hold her breath?
In April 2023 Alessia set a world record in her class of taking just three minutes and 38 seconds to descend an ocean depth of 109 meters.
The dive broke her own record, which she had set just two days prior, of descending to 107m on a three minute 26 second dive.
What happened to Stephen Keenan?
Dublin-born Stephen was a diver who was in a relationship with Alessia Zecchini.
He died in July 2017 at the age of 39 while trying to help Alessia during a free dive off the coast of Egypt.
Stephen, who was a qualified instructor-trainer, had been diving at the world-famous dive site at the Arch of the Dahab Blue Hole.
He was described as a "hero" and “guardian angel" by friends after his death.
Stephen was the co-owner of Dahab Freedivers, described as one of the world’s most dynamic free dive schools in the world.
He also set a number of Irish National Records for free diving during his career.
At the very end of the The Deepest Breath documentary, Alessia reflects on the dive that led to Keenan's passing.
She says: "Maybe I could have done more.
"If I'd been more conscious, I don't know."
"The worst thing is we couldn't do anything, we couldn't save him. He rescued me, but I couldn't rescue him," she adds.
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Zecchini posted a tribute to Keenan on social media ahead of the the film's release.
She wrote on her Instagram: "The only reason I agreed to be a part of [The Deepest Breath] is to let the world know what a wonderful and special person [Keenan] was, so that even those who don't know what free diving is can appreciate his immense humanity."
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