If you’re the spouse of a Regional- or Games-level athlete, you know it can be almost as pressure-filled as being on the competition floor.
Sometimes it means running around between events looking after your wife’s needs while keeping an eye on your 9-month-old son, like Katelin Marks’ husband, Johann Van Zyl, said he’s been doing all weekend in Sydney, Australia. Other times, it means losing an entire weekend of sleep, like Lindsay Vaughan’s husband, Ehren Vaughan.
“So, last night at 1:45 a.m., I was woken up by Lindsay crying, saying that she couldn’t sleep and that she needed a fan for her feet,” said Ehren, whose wife sits in 24th after Day 2 of the Pacific Regional.
“I started searching the unit that we have rented to try to find one, and when I couldn’t, I spent the rest of the night waking up every time she moved because I was worried about her not sleeping.”
While most spouses have to learn how to manage the stressed out, emotional athlete they love on a competition weekend, Brandon Swan’s wife, Kelly Swan, said there are some low-maintenance athletes out there as well. Her husband, who’s currently in sixth place in the Pacific Regional heading into the final day, is one of them.
“He is the most relaxed and easygoing person I know, so it is very easy to support him,” Kelly said. In fact, her biggest challenge managing Brandon has nothing to do with competing at all.
“The hardest part of being Brandon’s partner is dealing with his obsession with rescuing animals. Currently, he is determined to buy a goat,” she said.
But even if you’re the spouse of a more high-maintenance athlete, it gets easier with each year that passes, Ehren said. Now that Lindsay’s in her sixth straight year as an Individual Regional competitor, he says he’s almost used to it. Much of the hard work happens not on the weekend of the competition but in the days and weeks leading up to it, he explained.
The Vaughans own and run CrossFit Ballina in New South Wales. Lindsay’s devotion to elite fitness means Ehren often has to work twice as hard on the business, especially as a competition approaches.
“The goal is to have her just showing up, coaching classes and doing some personal training while I take on some extra classes, personal training and handle most of the admin side of the business. … So, I tend to work more and work out little less over the competition season, and she works out more and works less,” he explained.
He added: “The last couple years have probably been the most enjoyable for both of us. Lindsay has found a good balance in her life, decreased her training volume and has gotten back to attending classes at our gym and doing GPP (general physical preparedness) programming, which is what made her fall in love with CrossFit. … It has been huge for her to get back into the class environment.”
The biggest lesson Ehren said he has learned over the years is that when it comes to game day, doing less is often more.
“By this stage, she doesn't need a lot from me other than a pre- and post-workout hug. As a partner, it has taken me a long time to work out the right time and the right things to say to help Lindsay. Most of the time, I still get it wrong, but 90 percent of the time, less is better,” he said.
Although Ehren has said some of the wrong things this weekend—and even though he failed in his efforts to find a fan for his wife’s feet—it’s all worth it, he said.
“A happy wife is a happy life,” he joked, adding, “And it does make me super proud to see her in action.”
