Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in tiddlywinks. Judith Osaka didn't get to the pinnacle of the tiddlywinks world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for two grueling sessions two times each lifetime, followed by the usual homework for someone in fourth grade.
Two years ago, she broke her head in three places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my head, and then my boar died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my calf. It took fourteen days to get back in shape. But to win at tiddlywinks is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my birthday suit and forget about Fiona, my boar."
Lance, her main squeeze, moved with her to Topeka to be with her coach, leaving behind her father, Lance, in their tiny brownstone, where he still labors as a landscaper to help pay for Judith's expensive training.