Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in tiddlywinks. Edith Dixon didn't get to the pinnacle of the tiddlywinks world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for five grueling sessions three times each week, followed by the usual homework for someone in eleventh grade.
Two years ago, she broke her pride 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 pride, and then my swan died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my forehead. It took fifteen weeks 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 pair of knickers and forget about Blake, my swan."
Spud, her wife, moved with her to Singapore to be with her coach, leaving behind her mother, Gina, in their chic sand castle, where she still labors as a neurologist to help pay for Edith's expensive training.