Out of the box

We like to think of ourselves as a bit maverick here on Not by the Playbook. Nothing too outrageous, but we like to think outside of the box... and so we present to you a show dedicated to those athletes whose decision to think out side of the box has served them well. People who have gone against the grain, challenged the established thinking and come out on top

Olivia Reeves has literally done the heavy lifting in making her sport more accessible to those who want to try, but were too intimidated to do so. From her home in Chattanooga in the US state of Tennessee, she has been telling us about how she became Olympic weightlifting champion, on developing a winning mind set and becoming the first American to win Weightlifting gold in 24 years, and how her life has changed since.

Yana Daniels has taken the concept of out of the box thinking and made it real. No ideas or theories... Yana Daniels literally makes boxes! A top tier footballer and Belgium international she was hoping to play a part in the country's recent Women's Euro campaign, but sadly wasn't picked in the final squad. But that didn't stop Yana from being a really important part of the competition. In fact despite Belgium not making out of the group stages they were represented in the final and indeed every single game, through Yana! She explains all

When people hit a certain age some look back on what they have achieved and wonder if it's enough.. and what could the future hold? The stereotype is the man buying a fast car, or a leather jacket... Peter Wright went in a different direction. Aged 40 and over weight, Peter's "out of the box" moment saw him change his life completely. He got FIT and set off on achieving some of the world's most difficult feat's of athletic ability. He recently wrote about his adventures a book called "A Mid-Life Less Ordinary - From Ultramarathon Insanity to Rowing the Atlantic at Fifty" and told me about some of the "hairier" moments of the past 10 years or so!

Whilst most of our guests used their "out of the box thinking" for good, our next story shows sometime it's used for villainous reasons! Join us at the finishing line of the Boston Marathon in 1980. Men's champion Bill Rodgers was very much expected to be there first, and he was. What was much less anticipated was the presence of the unheard of Cuban runner Rosie Ruiz, who was duly crowned the women's winner. But all was not quite what it seemed.

Photo: Olivia Reeves of Team United States performs a clean and jerk during the Weightlifting Women's 71kg on day fourteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at South Paris Arena (CREDIT: Lars Baron/Getty Images)