Water polo star Maggie Steffens reflected on her late sister-in-law Lulu Connor’s “Olympic spirit” after Connor died earlier this month in Paris.
“Obviously it’s difficult to talk about, especially today, but Lulu was a light,” Steffens, 31, told People on Monday, July 29. “She is the Olympic spirit, and I think that’s shown in how much she’s here.” (People didn’t note when the interview with Steffens took place, but Team USA’s women’s water polo lost to Spain on Monday during their second preliminary game.)
The athlete added: “She’s so present at the Olympics. She was somebody that brought joy to everybody she was with and to everything she did.”
Steffens’ sister-in-law died on Tuesday, July 23, after traveling to Paris to cheer on Steffens and Team USA as they compete in water polo. She was 26.
Steffens told the Associated Press that Lulu — who is the younger sister of the athlete’s husband, Bobby Conner — had a “medical emergency.” The family has not expanded further on Lulu’s cause of death.
As Steffens pursues her fourth gold medal as part of the U.S. women’s water polo team, she feels better knowing Lulu is there in spirit. Steffens’ husband, Bobby, has remained in France to cheer on his wife and Steffens put a flower in the Seine River in honor of Lulu during the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26.
“Lulu is here. She’s here [in Paris],” Steffens told People. “And I think that’s something that’s uniting us all and we hope to make her proud.”
The water polo captain noted that Lulu, who was a camp counselor and artist, brought “150 percent” to all of her adventures. That attitude is what Steffens is using as fuel as she competes at the 2024 Paris Games.
“That’s what everybody here is trying to do in the Olympic Games,” she continued. “And so to know that she embodies that spirit and for us to try to channel that and honor her, honor that spirit, that light that she’s always brought is something that we’re focused on doing.”
While her death is hard to handle, Steffens said everyone on the team has embraced Lulu’s spirit, partly because of a special gift she made for everyone.
Ahead of the games, Lulu crafted a Flavor Flav-inspired clock for all the families to wear during each event. (Flavor Flav, 65, sponsors both the women’s and men’s water polo teams.)
“She was really excited about Flavor Flav being a part of our team, and she loves our team. Obviously, her and I have been super close,” Steffens recalled. “She’s like my little sister and she knows a lot of the girls on our team. And so she ended up making clocks for Flavor Flav. He has one now, and then she made them for the families to wear on the back.”
The back of each water polo clock necklace reads, “Made with love by Lulu Conner. Let’s go, USA WWP!”
Fans can root for Steffens and her teammates as the women’s team takes on Italy on Wednesday, July 31, during the preliminary round. The top four countries at the end of the prelims will advance to the quarterfinals, which start on August 6. The medal matches begin on August 10.
