She also recently made her Met Gala debut, wearing Oscar de la Renta as the first LPGA player to walk the glamorous carpet. Korda has garnered a massive fan base throughout her career – but none as supportive as her biggest fan, boyfriend Andreas Athanasiou.
So, who is the man who stole the world’s best female golfer’s heart, and is a pro athlete himself? Here’s what we know.
Nelly Korda and Andreas Athanasiou support each other at games
Nelly Korda and Andreas Athanasiou after she won the Meijer LPGA Classic in 2021. Photo: Getty Images
Korda hard launched her relationship in an Instagram post back in 2019, which has since been deleted. However, the couple has been spotted publicly on multiple occasions, including at each other’s games and tournaments.
Athanasiou is often seen joining his world-famous girlfriend to celebrate her wins, such as the 2021 Meijer LPGA Classic. Likewise, Korda repped her beau’s Blackhawks by wearing a team jersey at the 2022 CP Women’s Open.
Andreas Athanasiou is an NHL veteran
Andreas Athanasiou plays for the Chicago Blackhawks in NHL. Photo: Getty ImagesAthanasiou is a 29-year-old Canadian professional ice hockey player. He plays in the centre position for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Chicago Blackhawks signed an US$8.5 million contract with him in 2023, per AP News, which is set to end in 2025. He has previously played for the Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings.
Like Korda, he has his own gold medals: one from his team winning the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge for Ontario, and one representing Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
What is Andreas Athanasiou’s background?
Andreas Athanasiou is Greek and Guyanese. Photo: Getty Images
Athanasiou was born in Woodbridge, Ontario, per his NHL bio, and he’s a Canadian national, but his ethnicity is Greek and Guyanese.
His father Stan Athanasiou is a commercial pilot for Air Canada, per Detroit Free Press. He is Greek and grew up in Athens. His mother Nadira is reportedly Indo-Guyanese.
Andreas Athanasiou is vegan
Andreas Athanasiou, Nelly Korda’s boyfriend, is a vegan. Photo: Getty ImagesAthanasiou adopted a vegan diet after rejoining the Detroit Red Wings in 2017. His diet reportedly mainly consisted of quinoa, beans, nuts, seeds and veggies, as well as millet, teff and farro, as revealed by his then-dietitian Lisa McDowell.
Per Detroit Free Press, Athanasiou chose to give up meat, fish and dairy after a lot of reading and due to personal reasons, saying, “I thought it would be a good idea to try it out … I liked it, so kept rolling with it. You have to eat a little bit more, but it was pretty easy to go through it”.
He allegedly faced racism at a game
Andreas Athanasiou has allegedly faced racism during a game when he was a teenager. Photo: Getty ImagesBack when 17-year-old Athanasiou played as the London Knights’ left wing, he alleged that Russian player Andrey Pedan of The Guelph Storm hurled racial slurs at him on multiple occasions, per Yahoo! However, The Guelph Storm’s general manager Mike Kelly denied the allegations, and Pedan was penalised only for verbal abuse, not racism in particular.
An injury left him on the sidelines for months
Andreas Athanasiou playing for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2023. Photo: Getty Images
Athanasiou faced an unexpected pause in his NHL career when he suffered a severe injury in his right hip and groin in November 2023. This left him sidelined for almost four months and took a major toll on his mental health as he spent “a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of achy days”, per NBC Sports Chicago.
This was not his first injury, however – he had a similar injury on the other leg during his time with the Los Angeles Kings. Athanasiou made his comeback in March this year.
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Publish date : 2024-07-03 03:00:00
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