Olympic water polo star Maddie Musselman holds memorial for late husband

Olympic water polo star Maddie Musselman has led a memorial for her late husband Patrick Woepse, who died of a rare form of lung cancer.

Woepse, 31, died on October 10, having been diagnosed with the disease just a year earlier.

Musselman, 26, shared a video of the memorial on social media along with the caption, "All for you, Pat. All for you. We love you and miss you. We can do hard things. PW FOREVER."

Watch the video above.

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Family and friends gathered on November 3 for an ocean swim tribute to Musselman.

The video shows participants dressed brightly and swimming through the surf as the song Starting Over by Chris Stapleton plays.

Musselman and Woepse, also a water polo player, met at a friend's wedding in 2022. They were only engaged for a few months when Woepse was given a terminal diagnosis.

The couple decided to wed as soon as possible, organising the nuptials in just four days.

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Woepse, who played at UCLA, said he began suffering from a nagging cough ahead of his diagnosis.

"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."

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While the diagnosis was devastating, Woepse was still able to attend the 2024 Paris Olympics and cheer his wife on.

Musselman shared the news of her husband's death on social media.

"Heartbroken. Patrick gained his angel wings last night 10/10/24 surrounded by family. 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. He was a true blessing from God."

She said "although it feels heavy and I can't breathe as I sit here typing this out, he is no longer in pain and was so at peace during his last moments."

"He battled one of the most rare cancers for over a year, never complained, and fought harder than anyone should have to fight for something in their life. He fought EVERY DAY to be here with us as long as he could," her post continued.

"His courage was seen daily from day one. I was so lucky to have gotten a front row seat of Pat's life for the past 3 years.

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"Our time together was cut way too short. I know for a fact I will continue to share stories of him for the rest of my life… get ready for it all. The peace of God and the comfort of His hands has been felt in so many places. I know Pat is looking down and smiling with that perfect smile of his.

"He is definitely overjoyed to be running and swimming around all freely up in heaven. I can't wait to run into his arms again one day until then, I promised him I would keep living life with him as my angel, guiding and motivating me, and never ever forgetting the ways he has made my life amazing.

"He promised me he would continue to show up and all I have to do is just look for him. I love you so much babe. I will be missing you forever."

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