Coach Knows Lee Kiefer is Good Enough to Compete in 2028 LA Olympics

Bluegrass Fencers’ Club Photo

Amgad Khazbak was coaching in Texas in 2003 and not overly happy. He was ready to go back to Egypt where he began his fencing journey with the Egyptian national team before eventually becoming the team’s coach.

Just a few weeks before Khazbak was ready to return to Egypt, he met Dr. Steve Kiefer of Lexington who had children ages 11, 9 and 5 who were fencing at home and maybe going to Louisville once a week to practice at a small club.

“He asked me to come to Lexington and just try it,” said Khazbak. “I did and it has worked out well.”

It worked out better than well. He started Bluegrass Fencers’ Club and was the U.S. Olympic coach in 2012, 2016 and 2021. His students have won over 100 medals in Olympic Games, World Cups, World Championships and national events.

His biggest success story has been Lee Kiefer, Steve’s daughter who was 9 years old when Khazbak moved to Lexington. She’s now won three Olympic gold medals — the first U.S. fencer ever to do that — after winning the foil fencing gold in Paris to go with the one she won in 2021 in Tokyo and also helping the U.S. win its first team foil gold. She also qualified for the Olympics in 2012 and 2016.

She won her first medal at the World Championships in 2008 at age 15 and has 12 medals at the World Championships along with four NCAA championships. She is the first back-to-back gold medalist since Italy’s Valentina won three-straight in 2000, 2004 and 2008 and joined Mariel Zagunis (women’s saber gold in 2004 and 2008) as the only American fencers with two individual Olympic gold medals.

“She is the top fencer in the world,” Khazbak said. “She has the best skills and works so hard. Thank God everything worked out well for the second time with all the family and friends and club members there to see her that could not in Japan (because of COVID).”

Khazbak was in Paris and celebrated with Kiefer and her husband, Gerek Meinhardt, who was also competing in his fourth Olympics for the U.S. men’s fencing team. The coach came back to Lexington sooner than the Kiefer’s who stayed for the closing ceremonies because he had students to train.

“A lot of people have heard about fencing because of Lee and we have one of the best clubs not only in the U.S. but in the world,” the coach said. “A lot more people are starting to fence. We have more people calling. We have a waiting list for people to start fencing. We are going to start a program again at the YMCA.”

That’s the Kiefer Effect. It started after her win in Tokyo and Bluegrass Fencers’ Club added 10 members within a week of Kiefer’s win in Paris

“We have more young fencers,” the coach said. “When I started with Lee at age 9, her body was not ready and she was not ready mentally. She followed all my instructions just like her brother and sister (both successful fencers) did. Her sister was NCAA champion and won the World Cup. Her brother was second in the NCAA and won silver at the World Cup. They were all good but Lee is just special.

“When I got to Lexington I was doing an after school program they were attending. I would go to the YMCA and they would show up there. I would go to Eastern Kentucky University and she was also going there before we had our own club spot for her to practice.”

Kiefer knows how demanding Khazbak is about practice. The club closes on Christmas, Easter and maybe a few other days. That’s why Kiefer and her husband were surprised when their flight landed in Lexington and many club members were at the airport to greet them.

“She knows it is not like me to close and go to the airport,” Khazbak said. “We practiced a little earlier and were tracking their flights. When they got close to landing, we all went to the airport to surprise them.”

Now will Kiefer surprise many by trying to compete in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles? Kiefer, 30, took a break from UK med school to train and compete in Paris.

“She needs time to think about that. She has to think about medical school,” Khazbak said. “She needs time. Everyone, including me, needs to let her finish her mission first and then take some days to relax and think about everything.”

Kiefer is doing exactly that now on a two-week break to decompress away from family, friends and social media.

“No one knows what her and her husband will do. Our dream is to continue (to LA) and she is good enough to do that,” Khazbak said. “Lee is a very kind person and her husband is too.

“She makes everyone happy. Not only in the United States, but others in the Philippines (where her mother is from) and Egypt (where Khazbak is from). She makes hundreds of millions of people proud and happy.”