US water polo star cheered on by her husband at Paris Olympics as he deals with lung cancer

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Pat Woepse smiled. He cheered for his wife, Maddie Musselman. He hung out with a buddy at the Paris Olympics.

It was a very special Saturday. A few precious moments away from the reality of lung cancer.

Woepse was on hand as the U.S. women’s water polo team cruised to a 15-6 victory over Greece. Musselman scored in her return to the Olympics after she was the tournament MVP when the U.S. won its third consecutive gold medal at the Tokyo Games.

Woepse, 30, set a goal of making it to the Olympics to watch Musselman play after he was diagnosed in September with NUT carcinoma — a rare, fast-growing cancer. In the run-up to Paris, Musselman stayed with Woepse when she felt that was where she needed to be, and she trained when she could — supported all the way by her teammates and U.S. coach Adam Krikorian.

They made it. They all made it.

“This was my biggest goal, with everything being so unknown,” Woepse told The Associated Press. “So pretty emotional, emotional day for me. Couldn’t be more thrilled to be here to support Maddie and the team.”

Moments after the U.S. closed out its opening win, Musselman found Woepse in the stands and waved.

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“It’s just a full-circle moment, especially coming from, you know, nine months ago, with all that’s happened,” Musselman said. “And I think it’s just exciting having him in the crowd for the first time.”

Woepse and Musselman, 26, are both Southern California natives who played water polo at UCLA. They were at the school at different times, but their mutual alma mater played a role in the beginning of their relationship.

They met at the January 2022 wedding of Kodi Hill, one of Musselman’s teammates at UCLA, and Ryder Roberts, who played alongside Woepse with the Bruins. One awkward voicemail later — Musselman missed Woepse’s first call because she didn’t recognize the number — they started dating.

He proposed on Newport Beach last year, and Musselman borrowed a dress when they decided to get married on short notice on Sept. 30.

Woepse had a lingering cough last summer, so he saw a doctor and got a chest X-ray. That led to the cancer diagnosis.

“Treatment-wise, I’m on a clinical trial. … It’s going well,” said Woepse, who used a cane to move around the aquatics center. “There’s been some promising results from tumor markers, but still it’s an ongoing battle to deal with.”

The journey to Paris required a lot of coordination between Woepse and his doctors, who also were in contact with Team USA doctors as they worked to make the trip as safe as possible.

“They definitely made it all happen for me. I’m very grateful,” he said.

Musselman, one of three daughters for former major league pitcher Jeff Musselman and his wife, Karen, scored 12 goals in her Olympic debut in 2016. She had 18 goals in Tokyo.

She has a long list of memorable experiences at the Games, but seeing Woepse in the stands was a big one.

“He told me he was in the middle, but there’s so many people I didn’t want to look like I was distracted by trying to find him in the beginning,” Musselman said. “So near the end, I was able to find him up there. And he was waving.”

Woepse’s presence also was uplifting for Krikorian and the rest of the U.S. team. Over the years, through his time at UCLA and his relationship with Musselman, Woepse has become friends with a handful of her teammates.

“He’s been our biggest fan and our biggest inspiration, through this process over the last year,” Krikorian said. “So to be able to have someone like that (here), who we draw a ton of inspiration from, it’s heartwarming.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games