Maggie Steffens and her family experienced a heartbreaking loss before the start of the Olympic Games in Paris.
On Tuesday, July 23, Lulu Conner—the Olympic U.S. Water Polo team captain’s sister-in-law—died at 26 after traveling to the city to support Steffens as she competes for a fourth consecutive gold medal with the U.S. team.
According to the Associated Press, Maggie—who married Lulu’s brother Bobby Conner in November—shared that she and her family are still determining exactly what happened, but described the situation as “a medical emergency.”
“She was so excited for the Olympic Games,” a teary Steffens told the outlet. “We’re really close. She’s the light of the world. She just brings so much joy to everyone. She always brings people together.”
Lulu Conner was an artist—she made her own version of Flavor Flav’s USA Water Polo clock for the Olympics—a UC Davis grad, and one of three siblings.
Imma be wearing a VERY SPECIAL second clock for the duration of the Olympics and more,,,
MADE WITH LOVE BY ARTIST LULU CONNER 🫶🏾 pic.twitter.com/vNzDhteicS— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) July 28, 2024
“It definitely helps to play,” Steffens said. “I’m like so out of body in a way right now. And I just keep trying to remind myself what Lulu would want and how she would be. How can I embody her spirit the best? Lulu was somebody who gave 150% to everything she did.”
The 31-year-old scored two goals while playing 21 1/2 minutes as the U.S. beat Greece 15-6 on the first day of the women’s tournament on Saturday. She is the highest-scoring woman in Olympic history with 58 goals.
What a moment for Maggie Steffens at the #OpeningCeremony
She drops flowers into the Seine from the Team USA boat to honor a late family member ❤️ pic.twitter.com/G1TPAKqc6q
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) July 26, 2024
In a sweet tribute to Lulu, Maggie dropped a bouquet of flowers into the River Seine from Team USA’s boat during the July 26 Opening Ceremony.
But as Maggie continues in her 2024 Olympic journey, she has a huge support system behind her—including head coach Adam Krikorian, whose own brother died shortly before the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“You just show her love and support,” Adam explained to the Associated Press. “You know it’s important that she’s there for Bobby and his family as well. This is a difficult time for them, and give her some freedom to be able to spend some time with them I think is enormously important.”
“It’s going to be a really hard couple of weeks for all of us,” Maggie admitted. “My team has been a really big support system for me. I’ve been obviously really struggling, and my husband as well, and his entire family. It’s a nightmare, and it’s completely shocking.”
She continued, “But I think just feeling her spirit here—it’s amazing. And I hope that we can make her proud every single day.”