When U.S. water polo captain Maggie Steffens goes for her next Olympic win, she’ll be thinking of Lulu Conner, who died after traveling to Paris to cheer on her sister-in-law’s quest for a fourth consecutive gold medal.
Lulu, the little sister of Steffens’ husband Bobby Conner, died at 26 following a “medical emergency.”
Preparing to compete amid her immense grief, Steffens says Lulu – “the light of the world” – was “so excited for the Olympic Games,” and hopes the team will “make her proud.” Keep reading to learn about Steffen’s tragic loss.
Hall of Fame rapper Flavor Flav, who sponsors and champions the U.S. water polo team, will be seen at the Paris Olympics wearing a “VERY SPECIAL second clock for the duration of the Olympics and beyond.”
On the back of the clock, it’s signed “Made with love by Lulu Conner.”
Team captain Maggie Steffens shares that Lulu, her husband Bobby’s 26-year-old sister “was really excited about Flavor Flav being a part of [the] team.”
“She loves our team. Obviously, her and I have been super close. She’s like my little sister and she knows a lot of the girls on our team,” explains Steffens, 31. “And so she ended up making clocks for Flavor Flav. He has one now.”
The clock was hand delivered poolside by Bobby and his mother.
Sharing a clip of when he received the clock, Flavor Flav, the water polo team’s “biggest hype man” can be seen holding his heart, and after saying “Wow,” he reaches over to embrace Bobby’s mom, who along with the rest of the family, is grieving the death of Lulu, an artist and UC Davis grad.
‘She is the Olympic spirit’
On Tuesday July 23, after traveling to Paris to cheer on Steffens in her bid for a fourth consecutive gold medal with the U.S. team, Lulu died.
While her exact cause of death has not been revealed, Steffens describes it as “a medical emergency.”
“Obviously it’s difficult to talk about, especially today, but Lulu was a light,” Steffens tells People. “She is the Olympic spirit, and I think that’s shown in how much she’s here. She’s so present at the Olympics. She was somebody that brought joy to everybody she was with and to everything she did.”
‘So out of body’
Meanwhile, Steffens has to keep her head in the game.
“It definitely helps to play,” Steffens tells Associated Press. “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, you know, how can I embody her spirit the best. And Lulu was somebody that she gave 150% to everything she did.”
At the opening ceremony Friday night, Steffens – traveling on the American boat – dropped a small bouquet of flowers into the Seine River in honor of Lulu.
“It’s going to be a really hard couple weeks for all of us,” she said. “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. I mean, it’s a nightmare, and it’s completely shocking. But I think just feeling her spirit here is, like I said, it’s amazing. And I hope that we can make her proud every single day.”
Please share your wishes to Lulu’s loved ones and then share this story so we can spread some love to the family and Steffens’ team as it goes for gold!
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