Lee Kiefer joins Mariel Zagunis (saber fencer) as the second U.S. fencer with two individual Olympic gold medals. She defeated her teammate Lauren Scruggs who took the silver medal in a one-two finish for Team USA. Kiefer fences for Bluegrass Fencers’ Club in Kentucky and is the first American woman or man to win gold in foil. Having defended her title in Paris, she has made history as one of the greatest fencers in the U.S.

Under the glass dome of the Grand Palaix, one of the highlight sports of the Paris Summer games, Kiefer express “It’s so special to have my family (here), all my best friends who I haven’t even seen,” she says. “I tried to spot them in the crowd. But it makes it so much fuller,” she told the Los Angeles Times. Many of Kiefer’s family and friends joined her second run for the gold medal as they couldn’t watch her live in Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021) where she broke ground as the first Asian American to win gold in fencing at the Olympics.
At the Paris Olympic pre-games promos, Kiefer states the inspiration and support of her mother and her father in separate athlete spotlights. Also rooting for her second gold podium finish is her husband and fellow Team USA Fencing teammate Gerek Meinhardt.

The finals for the Women Foil Individual took place on Sunday July 28, 2024 as individuals from Team USA fenced each other for a historic finish! Scruggs would be the first non-European (Black woman) to win an individual medal for Team USA.

AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
Thank you for all those who contributed to our Lunar New Year fundraiser. We exceeded our $5,000 matching grant challenge by 121%! We couldn’t do this without you. It’s never too late to donate. You can make your tax-deductible donations here via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Venmo. Stock donations and donations via DAFs are also welcomed.
Please also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and X.