Why Diabetic Athletes Should Be Thanking U.S. Open Winner, Alexander Zverev

 Diabetic Athletes Struggle More Than You Realize

Diabetes is more prevalent in today's world than many may realize, and the statistics only grow each year. In the United States alone, 364,000 children (under the age of 20) are living with diabetes. My mother is a diabetic. Several of my friends are diabetic. I'm sure that if you clicked on this article, there's someone, or maybe you, who is dealing with this awful, chronic metabolic disease. Imagine being an athlete with diabetes? The challenges are endless. Sugar levels are all over the place, and how do you possibly check your levels in the middle of physical activity? Thanks to certain advocates, dedicated foundations, endless research, and advancements in technology, diabetes is becoming much easier for diabetic athletes to manage. One of my favorite advocates was diagnosed at the age of four, but his mother wouldn't take no for an answer. He's from Germany, and he just won the U.S. Open Men's Tennis Championship. During his speech, he thanked his mother for not holding back, and I'm sure any mother could relate. Check out the video here.

Why Diabetic Athletes Should Be Thanking Zverev

Zverev's mother didn't say no back then, and today, he isn't standing down. Going against the grain in any professional sport is frowned upon, but certain sports, like tennis and golf, even come with quiet requirements and dress codes. Being diabetic requires constant attention to your sugar levels, which are already constantly changing before light exercise. Imagine playing three to five hours of tennis with this problem, and at the highest level of the sport. Where do you even start? Thanks to Alexander Zverev pushing the envelope and openly managing his type one diabetes on the tennis court (see picture below), in combination with crazy-cool technological advancements, we're watching it happen in real time. He's been playing for years and defying the odds all along. Today, he's the number one player in the world. The Alexander Zverev Foundation does more globally for children with diabetes than most, but the person behind the foundation is leading the charge in real time, and I can't stop watching. His struggles have been as real as any other diabetic's, but he's chosen to live them live on TV so that he can chase his dream. If you have a diabetic in your family, I highly recommend checking out his foundation and following his journey!

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