Lexington fencer Lee Kiefer wins second consecutive Olympic gold medal
Lexington fencer Lee Kiefer wins second consecutive Olympic gold medal
Lee Kiefer tried not to feel the pressure of repeating as Olympic champion, even while knowing deep down that earning a second Olympic gold medal would be tougher than earning her first.
“No matter how much I tried to prepare, there’s still so much pressure I put on myself to just fence well and stay present,” she said. Add to that the distractions of fencing in front of a crowd of 8,000, including many friends and family who were unable to watch the fencing live at Tokyo 2020, and the stakes become even higher.
“It’s so special to have my family (here), all my best friends that I haven’t even met,” she said. “I tried to spot them in the crowd. But it just makes it bigger.”
Lauren Scruggs (left) won silver and Lee Keefer (center) won gold on Sunday. Canada’s Eleanor Harvey won bronze. (Photo by #BizziTeam via USA Fencing)
Kiefer, who competes for the Bluegrass Fencing Club of Lexington, has already become the first American woman and man to win gold in foil. Now, she’s the first to do so twice, cementing her status as one of the greatest fencers in U.S. history. She joins Marielle Zagunis (women’s sabre gold in 2004 and 2008) as the only American fencers to win two individual Olympic gold medals. But the story of the night didn’t end there. Kiefer’s opponent in the gold medal final was Lauren Scruggs (Queens, New York). Scruggs, who fences for the Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York City, becomes the first Black woman to win an individual fencing medal (of any color) for Team USA.
She also becomes just the second American woman to win an individual medal (of any color) in foil, joining Kiefer. “I’m definitely more excited than disappointed,” she said. “I’d say it was a shock for me to be here. So I don’t think she even had time to process it.”
Sunday’s match, won by Kiefer 15-6, marked the first Olympic gold medal final between two Americans since Mariel Zagunis beat Sada Jacobson in the women’s individual sabre final at the 2008 Beijing Games.
And it took place in one of the most beautiful fencing venues longtime fans of the sport have ever seen. “It’s crazy,” Scruggs said, “just to see the number of people who are interested in fencing and want to support fencers is amazing, because we don’t have that in the United States. So, I’m just super grateful to be able to fence in front of such a big crowd and in such a beautiful space.”
The last all-American final in women’s foil in any senior-level international fencing competition was in 2016, when Lee Kiefer fenced her Tokyo 2020 Olympic teammate Nicole Ross.
Kiefer becomes the third woman to win multiple Olympic gold medals in the women’s individual foil event, after Valentina Vezzali (ITA, 3) and Ilona Elek (HUN, 2).
USA Fencing
