Lee Kiefer made Olympic fencing history on Sunday by winning gold in the individual foil.
By capturing her second straight gold in the event, Kiefer became the first U.S. woman to win the foil twice. She was the first American to earn gold when winning at Tokyo during the 2020 Summer Games.
Kiefer closed a 15-6 victory over fellow American Lauren Scruggs, the first American to capture silver in the event.
Kiefer made her Olympic debut in 2012. She’s since graduated as a four-time national champion at Notre Dame and won 13 individual Pan-American championships.
The Kentucky native put medical school on hold to compete in Paris. She returned to the Olympics alongside her husband, Gerek Meinhardt, a former Notre Dame fencing national champion and two-time Olympic bronze medalist.
“This will actually be my fourth Games with my partner,” Kiefer told NCAA.com’s Olivia Brown ahead of her recent triumph. “I think it’s my secret weapon, having someone I train with, someone who helps me on all the bad days, to be there in the stands during my event, kind of pushing me forward.”
Kiefer felt she’s continued to improve her craft before validating that confidence on Sunday.
“At my first Olympics, I was 18 years old, and now I’m 30 years old,” she said. “One of the reasons that I’m still fencing is because I feel like I can still get so much better and still grow. And that sounds surprising — like, you have an Olympic medal, and you’re ranked No. 1 in the world. But the nuances are so fun.”
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