Lauren Scruggs (born January 27, 2003) is an American left-handed

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

fencer. Scruggs won a silver medal in women's individual foil at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, making her the first Black American woman to win an individual fencing medal. She also won a gold medal in women's team foil at the same Olympics, along with

Lee Kiefer Lee Kiefer ( ; born June 15, 1994) is an American right-handed foil fencer and three-time Olympic champion in women's foil, having won the individual event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and the individual and team events at the 2024 Summer Olymp ...

, Jackie Dubrovich, and

Maia Weintraub Maia Mei Weintraub (born October 24, 2002) is an American Foil (fencing), foil Fencing, fencer. She won the 2019 and 2023 USA Fencing Women's Foil National Championships, was ranked second in the world in 2021 in women's foil in the juniors, an ...

. Scruggs competes for the

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the college sports teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate Varsity team, varsity sports teams for women and men at Harva ...

team in

collegiate fencing Collegiate fencing in the United States can be traced back to as early as 1941. Some of the earliest programs in the US came from the Ivy League schools, with the first Ivy League fencing championships taking place in 1956. As of 2023, there are ...

. She has won an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

championship and is one of three black fencers from the United States to have won an individual world championship.

Early life and education

Scruggs grew up in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. She was inspired to start fencing as a 6-year-old, after her older brother joined a fencing club in Brooklyn. She attended

Packer Collegiate Institute The Packer Collegiate Institute is an independent college preparatory school for students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Formerly the Brooklyn Female Academy, Packer has been located at 170 Joralemon Street in the historic district of ...

, graduating in 2021. Her older brother Nolen fenced at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She is a student at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and is majoring in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Career

Scruggs is a two-time champion in the Junior World Fencing Championships, winning individual gold medals in 2019 and 2022 as well as other individual and team awards in 2018, 2021, and 2023. In 2023, she earned an individual gold medal at the NCAA Fencing Championships in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and contributed to a fourth-place team finish for Harvard. In June 2023, she took bronze at the

Pan American Fencing Championships The Pan American Fencing Championships are an annual top-level fencing tournament organized by the Pan American Fencing Confederation. They serve as zone championships for the Fencing World Cup run by the International Fencing Federation. Editi ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

2024 Summer Olympics

On March 17, 2024, Scruggs qualified for the Paris Olympic Games by earning bronze at the Absolute Fencing Gear FIE Grand Prix in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

At the Games, she won the silver medal in the women's foil event, defeating Italian fencer

Arianna Errigo Arianna Errigo (born 6 June 1988) is an Italian left-handed foil and sabre fencer. Errigo is a nine-time team European champion, two-time individual European champion, six-time team world champion, and two-time individual world champion. Known ...

and Canadian fencer

Eleanor Harvey Eleanor Grace Harvey (born January 14, 1995) is a Canadian foil fencer. She is a three-time Olympian and won the bronze medal in the individual foil event at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Harvey is also a Pan American Games champion, a two-time ...

, among others, before losing 15–6 in the final to fellow American

. This made Scruggs the first Black American woman to win an individual fencing medal at the Olympics.https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2024/07/28/lee-kiefer-lauren-scruggs-fencing-paris-olympics/#:~:text=Fellow%20American%20Lee%20Kiefer%20won,the%20delight%20of%20her%20mentor. She also won a gold medal in the team competition.

Personal life

Scruggs is openly

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

and currently dating a Harvard classmate. She is involved with the

Peter Westbrook Foundation Peter Jonathan Westbrook (April 16, 1952 – November 29, 2024) was an American saber fencer. He was a 13-time national and 3-time Pan American Games saber champion, five-time Olympian, and an Olympic bronze medalist. He founded the Peter West ...

, which offers fencing lessons to children and teens who are members of

underrepresented group An underrepresented group describes a subset of a population that holds a smaller percentage within a significant subgroup than the subset holds in the general population. Specific characteristics of an underrepresented group vary depending on the ...

s. By qualifying for the Paris Olympics, she became the 17th Olympian produced by this foundation.

Medal record

Olympic Games

World Cup

Pan American Championship

External links

Lauren Scruggs
on

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

Lauren Scruggs
on USA Fencing
Lauren Scruggs
on

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scruggs, Lauren 2003 births Living people American female foil fencers 21st-century American LGBTQ people American lesbian sportswomen Fencers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Fencers from New York City Harvard Crimson fencers LGBTQ fencers LGBTQ people from New York (state) Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in fencing Olympic silver medalists for the United States in fencing Sportspeople from New York City Sportspeople from Queens, New York 21st-century American sportswomen