U.S. water polo captain Maggie Steffens is playing with a heavy heart at the Paris Olympics after her sister-in-law died a couple days before the Games began.
Lulu Conner, 26, died Tuesday after traveling to Paris to cheer on Steffens, who lives in Long Beach, as she goes for a fourth consecutive gold medal with the U.S. team, made up almost entirely of athletes with Southern California ties. The family is still piecing together what happened, but Steffens described the situation as “a medical emergency.”
“She was so excited for the Olympic Games,” a teary Steffens told The Associated Press. “We're really close. She's the light of the world. She just brings so much joy to everyone. She always brings people together.”
Steffens 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.
“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, you know, how can I embody her spirit the best. And Lulu was somebody that she gave 150% to everything she did.”
Steffens, 31, married Bobby Conner in Puerto Rico in November. Lulu 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.
While she was on the American boat for the opening ceremony on Friday night, Steffens dropped a small bouquet of flowers into the Seine River in remembrance.
“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.”
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The death right before the Olympics was reminiscent of the 2016 Games, when coach Adam Krikorian lost his brother, Blake, and went home to be with his family before returning in time for the team's first game in Rio de Janeiro.
It was all too familiar for Krikorian.
“You know when it happens, it's like all the emotions come pouring back to you,” he said. “You might not feel these emotions that often, but then they just come rushing back.”
“You just show her love and support,” he continued. “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.”
