Athletes take on love

The season of love is upon us, and since we're also at the height of the Winter Olympics, athletes are in the news again. However, it's a known joke in the sports world that love and sports don’t mix, as athletes barely manage to keep a social life because of their day-to-day activities. Athletes are known to have sharp focus and discipline for their sport. Some don't have time to spare for anything else except their training. But as they say, "Where there's a will, there's a way." Being Olympians and having tight schedules did not stop Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, Laura Trott and Jason Kenny, and MGCNLCA's Benjamin Ernest Lim and Erin Nixie Go from pursuing their love.

Andre Agassi believes that it is Steffi Graf's discipline that made their marriage work out for two decades. With twenty-two Grand Slams in her bag, thirteen of which she won consecutively, Graf had an early start to her tennis career. At the age of thirteen, she already turned professional, which made her the second-youngest player to earn an international ranking. Despite only being fifteen years of age and the youngest in the Olympic tennis demonstration back in 1984, she won first place. Graf then went on to win three Olympic medals, earning gold and bronze in Seoul 1988 and a silver in Barcelona at the 1992 Games. On the other hand, Agassi has earned an Olympic gold, 60 ATP titles, and eight Grand Slams. His first Grand Slam in Wimbledon led him to his current wife, Steffi Graf. They both won Grand Slams in 1992 for the male and female categories, respectively. It is tradition for the male and female winners to dance together at the Wimbledon ball—and they did just that. But since they were involved with other people, it was only nine years later, in 2001, that Agassi and Graf tied the knot. Agassi continued to pursue his tennis career, even being named the oldest player to hold the world's top spot back in 2003, being 33 years and 13 days old. He retired in 2006 at the US Open, while Graf-Agassi retired earlier in 1999 at Wimbledon, two years before their marriage. Though Graf is now "disconnected" from the sport, she said, "Tennis has been a journey, and the best part of this journey is it led to you [Agassi]. I'll be forever grateful for that."

Cyclists Laura Trott and Jason Kenny are the most successful female and male British Olympians, which also makes them the most successful couple in Olympic history. Jason Kenny, owner of nine Olympic medals, seven of which are gold and two are silver, is the record holder for most gold medals won by a British athlete. Laura Trott owns six Olympic medals — five gold and one silver. She is the first woman to win gold medals for three years in a row and has beaten Leontien Zijland-Van-Moorsel, who is known to be the most successful female cyclist in the history of the Olympics. After the couple took home five gold medals in the 2016 Rio Games, Trott walked down the aisle later that year in September. A year after they married, they welcomed their first child into the world. Jason Kenny temporarily retired but went back into the sport in 2017, while Trott-Kenny competed in the 2018 World Championships to mark her comeback into the competitive sports world. The pair competed in the recent Olympic Games, proving they're still at the top of their game by winning one gold and one silver medal each in their respective events. Jason said that the one thing they appreciate the most is mutual understanding, "We understand each other. We understand where we are coming from."

On a more personal level, MGC New Life's very own Benjamin Ernest Lim and Erin Nixie Go were THE high school sweethearts — both athletes in basketball and volleyball, respectively. Go joined volleyball varsity in fourth grade, while Lim started basketball in sixth grade. As the team captain, the basketball varsity team was under Lim's leadership. Now, more than ten years later, the same group of players have also become Lim’s lifelong friends. For her part, Go added that aside from forming lasting friendships with teammates, she learned teamwork and discipline through the hours of intense practices, which translated to medals and trophies won. The two were batchmates from preschool all the way up to high school, and were occasionally assigned in the same class. Lim mentioned that whenever they'd get the chance to watch each other's games, it gives them an extra burst of energy and added motivation. Although the pressure to impress was present, Go added that they "served as an inspiration" for each other "to constantly improve our skills and work hard." The pair could relate to each other on a deeper level, understanding their similar situations as student-athletes. Both New Lifers agreed that, "[The] best part is that, win or lose, there's someone you can talk things over with afterwards that you know has your back no matter the outcome." And after ten years of being together, Lim and Go are still going strong.

Most may see having a relationship as a disturbance to an athlete's career, but the public has to realize that they are humans, just like you and me. Apart from their careers, they also have their own personal dreams and goals. Olympians dedicate their whole lives to their careers; they give so much of themselves to the sport. Thankfully for these athletes, they found the people they'd spend the rest of their lives with—after their careers and their fame. Some of these lovers become each other's inspiration in their line of work, while the others inspire each other to nurture their families. Maybe when an individual is passionate about the things they pursue, that love also develops into something new.