Not by the Playbook

The 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln once said "Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle." So this week, with the Paralympics starting in LA in exactly two years time, we can't wait to talk about para sport bringing you some truly outstanding stories from those who hustled their way to the top.
Kathrin Marchand is an athlete who has done something no one else has ever achieved. She rowed for Germany at two Olympics, no mean achievement in its own right. She stepped out of the boat for the final time in 2016 and embarked on a career as a doctor, then aged just 30, and without warning, she suffered a stroke. Sport became part of her rehabilitation and she went on to join an exclusive group of athletes to compete at both the Summer Olympics and Paralympics when she rowed again in Paris. But that wasn't enough for Kathrin! When she took part in cross-country skiing at the Winter Para Games in Milan she became a true one-off!
Pioneering Matt Scott is a 5-time paralympian. He picked up two golds and a bronze as part of the USA's wheelchair basketball team. Having left the court for the final time he is now fully focused on his "Fly Without Limits" foundation. It provides opportunities and adapted wheelchairs for individuals living with physical disabilities who want to compete in sport.
In Spain para sport is now on the rise and it all starts at the grass roots. The Tambien Foundation was set up twenty-six years ago with the aim to provide opportunities for those with disabilities to take part in adaptive sport. And it's starting to show in the medals table! Skier Audrey Pascual Seco, who won two golds at the recent Winter Paralympics, first visited the Foundation when she was eleven years old. This year they launched an adaptive climbing program aiming for more medal success at the Summer Games. Para climbing is making its debut in LA.
The story of US Navy bomb disposal officer Brad Snyder who a year after being blinded by an Improvised Explosive Device while serving in Afghanistan won Paralympic gold in the swimming pool.
Photo: Kathrin Marchand of Team Germany competes during the Women's 10km Para Cross-Country Skiing Standing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games (CREDIT: Luke Hales/Getty Images for IPC)

Andrea Jaeger takes us the behind the scenes and reveals the secrets of her remarkable rise to stardom as one of the youngest players to make a Grand Slam final. How she beat Billy-Jean King, in what was the legends final grand slam match, and the conversation they had after! Andrea's star burned exceptionally bright, but it was a shooting star, retiring at the age of just 19. What the early end of her career allowed her to do was pursue what has become a lifetime's passion. Charitable work supporting children with cancer!
Joanne Schickerling is a racquet wizard. Born in South Africa it was her tennis ability that brought her to the USA. In 2023 she became a Racketlon World Champion, and if you don't know what that is, you are not alone!  All you need to know is that you have to be very very good at many sports played with a racquet. Joanne explained what's needed to win and also how Street Squash, the non-profit she is part of run is helping the children of Harlem not only discover the joy of squash, and provides a safe place to be.
Sport is by definition a cutthroat business, but is it "The Cruellest Game" there is? Well, that's the question author and tennis journalist Matt Futterman has set out to answer in his new book of the same name. Is there something specific about tennis that seems to demand more than any other sport - and why do so many players walk away from the sport?
Nearly thirty years ago Australian tennis player Pat Rafter was the surprise winner of the Men's US Open. Dismissed as a “fluke” victory by John McEnroe, Rafter returned to Flushing Meadows the following year and retained the title, becoming world number one in the process. He tells his story.
Photo: The US Open at Flushing Meadow Credit: Joel Hammer/BBC)

The future of one of the most progressive Polo clubs is under threat. For over twenty years Catherine Cairns has run Polo Africa on her farm in the Eastern Free State of South Africa. Over the years she has not only enhanced the lives of hundreds of children in the local community by introducing them to the sport of polo, she's helped reshape the sport itself.
Often seen as a sport for royalty and rich people, Polo Africa has made the sport accessible and changed the lives of many of those who had the chance to play... but now the work Catherine has put in over the years is under threat as she looks for alternative revenue streams... So she has enlisted former British army officer and Polo player Mark Cann who amongst many things has produced a stunning visual documentary of the farm, the surroundings and the lives of those that have been improved.
Cricketer Ross Taylor who has achieved legendary status in New Zealand. His list of record and achievements is immense. A former captain of the national team, he played more than a record 450 times and is the only person in the world to have played more than 100 times in all three formats of cricket. The son of a New Zealand father and Samoan born mother, Ross grew up immersed in both cultures and wore the New Zealand cricket jersey with pride. Ross retired from the sport in 2022 but as it turned out his career in international cricket wasn't entirely over, when a chance to represent Samoa in 2025 he couldn't but help to answer the call! Now having finally retired, (we think!) Ross was looking for opportunities to use the platform that cricket gave him to influence the next generation. He explains why he wanted to join the "ALL IN" initiative a high-level panel pushing for the funding and political will to end violence against women and girls.
Imagine competing in the same sport as your brother but having to watch him compete at the Olympics, but you can't. Why? Well the sport of Nordic Combined remained the last discipline at the Games not open to women. Well that's what has happened to Annika Malacinski. Nordic Combined is a combination of ski jumping and long distance endurance skiing. Now 25, Annika has fought hard to establish herself as one of the world's leading female Nordic Combined competitors but from the very first Winter Games in 1924 right up to and including the last Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina a few months ago, women are not allowed to compete.
70 years ago at the 1956 Olympics, the Czechoslovak discus thrower, Olga Fikotova, caused a scandal by falling in love with an American hammer thrower called Harold Connolly. Despite winning her country's only gold medal, Olga was treated as a traitor by the communist government and her achievements were ignored. A few months later, Harold Connolly visited Prague to marry Olga and take her back to America with him.

PHOTO: One of the players benefiting from the Polo Africa project (CREDIT: https://www.poloafrica.com/ © 2026 Poloafrica Development Trust)

Brady Kramer always dreamed of scoring the winning goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. And he got closer than most when he was drafted to the NHL by the Montreal Canadiens. But the challenges he faced off the ice caused his life to go in a very different direction. Challenges he's happy to share, in the hope he can help others. Brady excelled on the ice from a young age and earned himself a place at Providence College and a top tier, Division I hockey career. However, adapting to life away from his family was difficult, and he soon fell into bad habits. Despite Brady's unhealthy relationship with alcohol, his ability on the ice got him to Draft day in the NHL, but after a brief, unhappy spell in the Minor Leagues, Brady hung up his skates and faced his biggest challenge to date, life after hockey. He now spends his days helping those who also suffer with addiction, whilst continuing to navigate through his own difficulties.
No one has represented England at rugby union more than Ben Youngs, and yet of his achievement he said "People are patting you on the back and telling you how great you are. And you’re thinking: ‘But I don’t feel that.’" Playing professional sport was sometimes something of a contradiction for him. He also said he "felt guilty playing for England after family tragedy", both his brother and sister lost their partners to illness. Now retired Ben has had some time to look back on his long career and evaluate when playing helped him off the pitch and when it was a struggle. Evaluating this balance is something he's carried on in his post playing career as a businessman and podcaster.
When former Dutch boxing champion Barry Groenteman used to visit his grandmother at her retirement home, he would often see an older man shadow-boxing. "He showed me his ring with the Star of David on it. And my grandmother would whisper: 'That's Ben Bril.'" This is the story of a Jewish boxer from Amsterdam who had his life transformed by invasion, violence and anti-Semitism. A champion forced into hiding, then captured and sent to the Nazi concentration camps - after being betrayed by a former Olympic teammate.
In 2015 and Nepalese runner Mira Rai who took the international "sky running" scene by storm, winning gold medals in ultra-endurance running events ranging from 50-150 kilometres. And behind Mira's achievements was a personal story that shocked the ultra-running world. She been telling Not by the Playbook's Hunter Charlton about being a teenage combatant in the Nepalese civil war.
PHOTO: Ben Youngs of England acknowledges the fans whilst wearing his bronze medal following the team's victory during the Rugby World Cup 2023 Bronze Final match between Argentina and England (CREDIT: Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

The Commonwealth Games - known as the Friendly Games - are held every four years. They have a three word moto "Humanity - showing that sport brings people together. Equality - that sport is for everyone. And Destiny - that sport is just the beginning. It's the only sporting event that combines both able bodied and para athletes. And the Commonwealth Games are a chance for smaller nations to shine in the sporting spotlight
In 2014, Tonga had no national netball team, coach, squad, or training facilities. Determined to change that, former television news anchor Salote Sisifa became CEO of Tonga Netball and promised the board that within five years she would build a team capable of competing internationally and reaching the world’s top ten by 2025. If she failed, she would resign. Alongside, Head Coach Jaqua Pori-Makea-Simpson, Salote propelled Tonga from 42nd to 7th in the world rankings navigating national disaster, the Covid-19 pandemic, and restricted resources along the way. Sophia Hartley examines Tonga’s extraordinary journey and how they have become a formidable force on the international stage. Their next milestone is their Commonwealth Games debut in 2026.
In the pool Olympic Champion Freya Anderson is aiming add to her already impressive medal collection. But Freya doesn't just have the opposition to beat, she has a condition which causes chronic pain; especially tough given her gruelling training schedule. Three years ago she was diagnosed with Endometriosis. Now back to her competitive best, Freya is raising awareness of the condition through her charity " Fast and Female ".
Diminutive weight-lifter, Precious McKenzie was a prodigious talent. Apartheid prevented him from competing for his native South Africa. So Precious moved to the UK and worked in a shoe factory. While doing so, he finally achieved international success at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica.
Photo: Tonga fan during the Netball World Cup 2023 (CREDIT: Shaun Roy/Gallo Images/Netball World Cup 2023 via Getty Images)