Who Is U.S. Water Polo Captain Maggie Steffens’ Husband Bobby Conner, Whose Sister Died After Arriving in Paris?
Three-time gold medalist Maggie Steffens is playing in the 2024 Paris Olympics with a heavy heart. After she and her family arrived in the French capital for the Games, her sister-in-law died following what’s being described as a “medical emergency.”
Here’s more on the professional water polo player, her husband Bobby Conner, and his late sister Lulu Conner.
How Steffens and Conner met and when they got married
Steffens met her future hubby in 2016 at a bar in Palo Alto, California, where a birthday party was being held for a mutual friend.
“Maggie had such confidence. She came into a party of guys celebrating a birthday and bought tequila shots for everyone,” Conner recalled to The New York Times.
He then brought Steffens a drink and they got to talking. She remembered: “He had a rhythm and confidence to him, I thought. He’s a very attractive man.”
Two weeks later, they got together for their first date.
The couple became engaged on July 8, 2022, and tied the knot on Nov. 11, 2023, at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Conner is also an athlete and works in the wine business
Like his wife, Conner is also an athlete.
He was a standout soccer player at San Rafael High School before attending Saint Mary’s College of California and joining that soccer team. He was team captain for two years and started in all 37 matches during his sophomore and junior years but a knee injury forced him to halt his collegiate career.
Conner earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Entrepreneurial studies. After graduation, he worked as a financial analyst at Toca Football and Harvest Help at Laird Family Estate.
Since 2018, he has served as a financial advisor for 6-8 Sports and is also the business development and production manager of 689 Cellars, his family’s winery located in Napa Valley, California.
Conner’s sister died after traveling to Paris to see Steffens compete for another medal
Conner has two siblings Carmen Marie and Lulu. Upon arriving in Paris, 26-year-old Lulu died suddenly leaving her family devastated and shocked as they try to grapple with the tragedy.
“She was so excited for the Olympic Games,” a tearful 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.
“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 amazing. And I hope that we can make her proud every single day.”
During the opening ceremony, Steffens dropped a bouquet of flowers into the Seine River as a tribute to her sister-in-law.
