Maggie Steffens is mourning the loss of her sister-in-law, who died two days before the start of the Paris Olympics.
Lulu Conner, the younger sister of Steffens’ husband, Bobby Conner, died July 24 at age 26, Steffens said.
Steffens, captain of the U.S. women’s water polo team, posted a tribute to Lulu Conner on Instagram on Saturday, sharing three photos that captured the essence of her late sister-in-law.
“Live like Lu,” Steffens captioned the post. “I love you, always together. Time to fly.”
The Olympian shared the background behind each photo in the rest of the caption, starting with a selfie of the pair taken while wedding dress shopping in New York City. Steffens noted that at the time they couldn’t “wait to be sisters.”
The second photo captured Steffens with Lulu Conner and her bridesmaids. The water polo player wrote that the photo came from her wedding “getting ready suite” and marked when they were “officially sisters.” In the last slide, she shared a photo of the Steffens and Conners families in Paris wearing their Team USA gear.
“A big family of Steffens & Conners and more people living like Lu,” Steffens concluded the caption. “Super support team during this extremely difficult time.”
The Associated Press reported that Lulu Conner died after traveling to Paris to cheer on Steffens and the U.S. women’s water polo team on their journey to another gold medal.
While it’s unclear how Lulu Conner died, Steffens described her sister-in-law’s death as “a medical emergency.”
“She was very excited about the Olympics,” Steffens told the AP. “We are very close. She is the light of the world. She just brings so much joy to everyone. It always brings people together.”
The US women’s water polo team defeated Greece on July 27, 15–6. During the match, Steffens scored two goals. She told the AP that “touching definitely helps” but that she was “so out of body.”
“And I keep trying to remember what Lulu would want and what she would be like, you know, how I can best embody her spirit,” Steffens added. “And Lulu was someone who gave 150% in everything she did.”
The women’s water polo team secured a place in the quarter-finals on Friday after defeating France 17-5.
Flavor Flavor, who became the official sponsor and hype man for the Team USA water polo teams in May, too shared a touching tribute to Lulu Conner.
On Sunday, Flavor Flav posted a video receiving a new exclusive watch necklace from Bobby Conner. The rapper seemed touched by the gesture and immediately hugged Bobby and Lulu Conner’s mother.
“Made with love by Lulu Conner,” the clock said. “Let’s go USA WWP!”
In the caption, Flavor Flav added: “I will be wearing a VERY SPECIAL second watch during the Olympics and beyond… MADE WITH LOVE BY ARTIST LULU CONNER.”
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