#BizziTeam Photos via USA Fencing Photo
If there was any doubt about whether Lexington’s Lee Kiefer is one of the greatest American fencers of all time, those doubts are gone forever.
Kiefer helped lead the United States to its first gold medal finish ever at the Olympics in Paris Thursday to make her the first U.S. fencer ever to win three Olympic gold medals. She won the individual foil gold in Japan in 2021 and defended that title in Paris earlier this week.
“We have been dreaming of gold for three years since the last Olympics and have been slowly working and trying to be positive and confident,” said Kiefer after the team win. “It takes many years. You just hope, you don’t expect.
“It’s crazy to think how far we’ve come. We’ve been locked in and giving so much passion for the last three years, and to be able to have that pay off is incredible.”
Well, maybe we did expect Kiefer to do this after she opted to take a sabbatical from medical school at the University of Kentucky so she could compete in Paris. This was her fourth — and possibly final — Olympics and she just seems to get better and better.
The United States started competition Thursday with a 45-37 win over China in the quarterfinals thanks to a decisive 8-2 rotation for Kiefer that Team USA never gave up.
In the semifinals against Canada, which upset host France in the quarterfinals, Kiefer again sparked the 45-31 win. Trailing 6-2 entering the third leg, Kiefer caught fire, outscoring her Canadian opponent 13-4 to put Team USA ahead for good.
Kiefer came back from an early 2-4 hole against Italy in the title match to score three straight points and end the first round 5-4. The U.S. team went on to lead after every leg to win its first team gold medal in front of 18,000 fans at the Grand Palais Museum.
Kiefer beat teammate Lauren Scruggs in the individual foil final and they combined with Jacqueline Dubrovich and Maia Weintraub to make history Thursday.
Kiefer can be a bundle of energy but almost always tries to downplay what she has done. However, during the national anthem at the awards ceremony she had tears streaming down her face.
“I met my goals in fencing,” Kiefer, 30, admitted.
Team USA’s only other Olympic medal came in 2008 when it took silver. Team USA lost in the bronze medal match in Tokyo in the last Olympics. Now 64 years after the team competition became part of the Olympics, USA finally has a gold medal thanks in large part to what Kiefer did.
Kiefer’s family and friends could not be in Japan when she won her first gold medal because of COVID-19 restrictions. Her family was in Paris, including her husband, Gerek Meinhardt who is on the USA men’s fencing team.
Her father(neurosurgeon), mother (psychiatrist) and sister (gynaecologist) are all doctors and both Kiefer and her husband are in the UK Med School studying to be doctors.
“They’re all here. So if anyone has any medical needs, we have you covered,” Kiefer said. “But I’m useless right now, and I’m just gonna soak in this win.”
Lee Kiefer Olympics
#BizziTeam Photos via USA Fencing Photos
One Response
She is simply amazing.