Yahoo Lifestyle U.S. Olympic Water Polo Star Holds Ocean Swim Memorial for Husband Who Died at 31 from Rare Lung Cancer
Maddie Musselman's husband, Patrick Woepse, died on Oct. 10 after battling NUT carcinoma for over a year
Maddie Musselman Woepse/Instagram
Olympic water polo star Maddie Musselman is mourning the loss of her husband, Patrick Woepse, who died from a rare form of lung cancer last month at the age of 31.
On Sunday, Nov. 3, family members and friends honored Woepse with an ocean swim, Musselman shared in a post on Instagram.
“All for you, Pat. All for you. We love you and miss you. We can do hard things🩵✨ PW FOREVER,” Musselman, 26, wrote.
In the accompanying video, participants clad in brightly colored swimsuits and caps are seen battling the rolling waves while Chris Stapleton’s “Starting Over” plays.
Related: Olympian Madeline Musselman's Husband Cheers Her on in Paris amid Stage 4 Lung Cancer Journey
Woepse died on Thursday, Oct. 10 after undergoing treatment for NUT carcinoma for over a year, Musselman previously shared on Instagram.
The couple, who met at a friend's wedding in 2022, were only engaged for a few months when they were told he had months to live.
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“With Pat’s diagnosis, we decided we wanted to get married as soon as possible,” Musselman told Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV in July. “All the people that came together to make it happen within four days — it was pretty crazy. We had flowers. We had a church that welcomed us with open arms to marry us. It was just a perfect weekend.”
Like his wife, Woepse was a water polo player at UCLA. He was in training to swim across the English Channel in 2023 when he sought treatment for a nagging cough.
Maddie Musselman Woepse/ Instagram
“I didn’t really think much of it other than it didn’t seem any different than … any normal cough I’ve had before,” he told Today.com. “I never smoked. We have a pretty healthy lifestyle. Hearing that news was a huge shock and obviously devastating.”
However, Woepse made it a goal to cheer on his wife — who was named the MVP of the team — in person at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In her post announcing his death, Musselman honored her husband and vowed to “share stories of him for the rest of my life.”
“No words to describe the ache of missing him,” she wrote. “He was the light of my life and my person. He was my first love and the best husband I could have ever asked for. He opened my heart up to what love is and looks like and I will forever do my best to love as hard as Patrick loved from this day forward."
