USA Olympic Photo
Lexington’s Lee Kiefer became the first American to take an Olympic gold medal in individual foil fencing with her victory in Tokyo in 2021 at age 27 while she was in the University of Kentucky medical school.
Fast forward three years and Kiefer is poised to win another gold medal in the Paris Olympics. Her individual competition will be July 28 and then she’ll be part of the team competition on Aug. 1.
“I have been fencing for 22 years and the longer I fence, the more I love it,” said Kiefer. “When I was in college I thought I had to either give up fencing or not go to med school. A lot of supportive people allowed and encouraged me to do both.”
Both she and her husband, Olympic medalist Grant Mienhardt, took time off from med school to compete in Tokyo and have been allowed to do the same so they can compete in Paris.
“If both of us were not fencers, we probably would have both retired a long time ago,” the gold medalist said. “We make each other better. We started dating around the time of the London 2012 Olympics.”
Kiefer competed in London and then again in Brazil in 2016 before taking the gold in Tokyo in 2021. The pandemic limited access and fan attendance in Tokyo, so Kiefer knows Paris will be different.
“Friends and family will be in Paris. Aunts, uncles, friends, everybody will be there and I will be the defending Olympic champion, so life will definitely be different this time at the Olympics,” Kiefer said.
She’s No. 1 in the world and has had a terrific season but knows that is no guarantee of Olympic success. She admits the “dream” is to win another gold medal — she was the first Asian American woman to win fencing gold — but she knows not to think too far ahead.
“I don’t think big picture. If you do, it kind of sucks you into unnecessary pressure and expectations,” Kiefer said. “I have been taking my training and mental health one step at a time. The Olympics are once every four years and most athletes don’t have the day they want (when competing for gold). To feel that one day defines your career is really not fair but that’s the way it is sometimes.
“I want to be at my best on that one day. But there are a lot of ups and downs. There is a lot of adversity and uncomfortable times you have to deal with.”
Kiefer said Olympians don’t interact with people competing in other sports that often at the Olympic Games.
“People are zoning in on their competition and there is not a lot of mingling time, especially at the beginning of the Olympics,” Kiefer said.
Kiefer, 30, will have a lot of much younger teammates but will not be a “mother figure” in Paris.
“I have so many talented, young teammates that I will be there for but part of the fun of being at the Olympics is having your own experiences,” Kiefer said. “At your first Games, you just go for it and are living your best life. For me, it’s a little different because I know this almost certainly will be my last Olympics.”
