U.S. Water Polo Star Maggie Steffens' Sister-in-Law Dies After Traveling to Paris for Olympic Games

"She was so excited for the Olympic Games," Steffens told the Associated Press about her late sister-in-law Lulu Conner

Maggie Steffens is in mourning after the sudden death of her sister-in-law, who came to Paris to watch the water polo Olympian compete in the 2024 Summer Games.

Steffens, a three-time gold medalist, confirmed the news to the Associated Press on July 28. She said Lulu Conner, Steffens' husband Bobby Conner's younger sister, died at 26 following a "medical emergency." Reps for the U.S. women's water polo team confirmed Lulu's death to PEOPLE.

"She was so excited for the Olympic Games," Steffens told the AP. "We’re really close. She’s the light of the world. She just brings so much joy to everyone. She always brings people together."

Related: Flavor Flav Follows Through on Promise to Support U.S. Women's Water Polo Team with $1,000 Bonus and Free Cruise

Steffens, who married Bobby in November 2023, told the AP that she dropped a bouquet of the flowers into the Seine during the opening ceremony on July 26 to honor Lulu.

"My team has been a really big support system for me," she told the outlet of grappling with the shocking loss. "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."

The women's coach Adam Krikorian told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was told "'Lulu was full of energy, and so excited to be here and watch this team." They will now "honor her by playing with energy."

On Sunday, Flavor Flav — who has been the U.S. women's water polo team's biggest fan, supporting them in person, in the pool and financially — shared a video of Steffen's husband giving him a special clock necklace that Lulu had made for him before her death.

"Imma be wearing a VERY SPECIAL second clock for the duration of the Olympics and more,,,
MADE WITH LOVE BY ARTIST LULU CONNER," Flav wrote on X.

The team's rep tells PEOPLE that Lulu made the clocks for every single member of women's water polo.

Women's water polo preliminary rounds began on Saturday, July 27, with the U.S. beating Greece 15-6. They'll next play Spain on July 29.

During the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Steffens told PEOPLE that finding unity with her teammates always helps her through difficult times. "Alone there are a lot of things you can't do, but together the impossible seems possible. It's all about the circle, it's all about the team and knowing at the end of the day all of our hands are in," she said at the time.

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. And sign up for Going for Gold, our Olympics newsletter, to get the biggest stories from the Games delivered straight to your inbox. Watch the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, beginning July 26, on NBC and Peacock.

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Read the original article on People.