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. Twenty-six-year-old Lulu Conner died Tuesday after traveling to Paris to cheer on Steffens as she goes for a fourth consecutive gold medal with the U.S. team.
United States’ Maggie Steffens answers to reporters during a news conference of the women’s United States team ahead the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in Paris, France. Lulu Conner, 26, died Tuesday after traveling to Paris to cheer on Steffens as she goes for a fourth consecutive gold medal with the U.S. team. 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.”Oh Ye Jin of South Korea smashes an Olympic shooting record to win gold in Paris“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.
“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.”Cohen is a national baseball writer and an editor on the AP’s sports desk. Based in Chicago, he also covers hockey, football and basketball, along with international water polo.
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