U.S. water polo phenomenon Maddie Musselman recently received devastating news – her fiancé Pat Woepse was diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer.
“Pat, from the beginning, was like, ‘You’re not stopping playing water polo. I love watching you play,’” Maddie recalled.
At just 25, Maddie already boasts three Olympic golds. Her scoring and playmaking ability propel a potential four-peat in Paris.
Quitting was never an option. “I know how much it means to her…So given the opportunity to watch her play and have success, it’s like there’s nothing better in the world to me than watching that,” Pat affirmed.
The couple met in early 2022 and quickly bonded over shared faith and water polo. “It was always really easy dating Maddie, which is amazing,” said Pat. They became engaged in June.
But in September, Pat sought a diagnosis for his monthlong cough. It was NUT carcinoma, an extremely rare cancer. “Once you get the confirming call, it was tough,” he recalled.
They flew to Boston for a second opinion and enrolled Pat in a clinical trial. As for prognosis, “It’s so rare, there’s not a lot of data points that can point to positive and negative cases,” Pat mused. “So that doesn’t mean anything to me…You can be the outlier.”
After telling the U.S. team, Maddie took a brief break. She didn’t know her Olympic availability. Since then, she’s rejoined the training sessions. “I don’t know how to go about this. We’re literally taking this day by day, week by week,” said coach Adam Krikorian.
Her teammates provided crucial support. “We’re here for you, we want you to be here as much as you can, so when you are here, what do you need from us?” they asked.
While balancing treatment and training, Maddie’s eyes remain on Paris alongside Pat’s. “I’ve never been to an Olympics. It’s my only goal right now to make it to Paris and to watch her play,” he stated.
The couple tackles each day as a united front, drawing strength from their shared Catholic faith. Maddie can’t be sure about her prospects in the Olympics, but her resolve remains steady.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.