Lee Kiefer ( ; born June 15, 1994) is an American right-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 and three-time Olympic champion in women's foil, having won the

individual An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...

event at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, and the

and

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

events 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 ...

. She is the most decorated women's foil fencer in American history. Kiefer is 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. ...

team champion, a four-time NCAA individual champion, a 12-time team Pan American champion, a 13-time individual Pan American champion, and the 2018 team world champion. A four-time Olympian, Kiefer is a 2020 and 2024 individual Olympic champion. She is the first American foil fencer in history to win an individual Olympic gold medal. Her foil fencing victory at the Olympics made her the second non-European woman to do so, after Luan Jujie. Kiefer competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

in Paris, France, in women's foil and women's team foil (with Jackie Dubrovich, Lauren Scruggs, and Maia Weintraub), winning gold medals in both.

Fencing career

Kiefer was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

and grew up in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

.Lee Kiefer
Team USA. Retrieved July 27, 2021, Her mother Teresa, a psychiatrist, was born in Pilar,

Capiz Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...

, Philippines and immigrated to the U.S. as a child, and her father Steve, a neurosurgeon, once captained the

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

fencing team. She graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in 2012. She attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, where she fenced for the Fighting Irish and graduated in 2017. She is now a medical student at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Her sister is former Harvard foil fencer and 2011 NCAA champion Alex Kiefer, who is now a doctor. Kiefer also has a younger brother, Axel, who was the 2015 USA Fencing National Championships Junior Gold Medalist, and who also attended and fenced foil for the University of Notre Dame, coming in second in the 2019 NCAA Championship. Kiefer earned a bronze medal in women's foil at the 2011 World Fencing Championships. She placed 5th at the 2012 London Olympic Games, after losing to eventual silver medalist Arianna Errigo in the quarter final, 15–10. In the 2014–15 season she climbed her first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

podium with a silver medal in Saint-Maur. She went on to win the Algiers World Cup in early 2015 after defeating world No.1 Arianna Errigo, who had prevailed over her in Saint-Maur. By winning at the 2014 NCAA Fencing National Championships, she joined her future husband, male fencer

Gerek Meinhardt Gerek Lin Meinhardt ( ; born July 27, 1990) is an American right-handed foil fencer. Meinhardt is a two-time individual NCAA champion, 12-time team Pan American champion, three-time individual Pan American champion and 2019 team world champion. ...

and swimmer Emma Reaney as part of the 2nd

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

trio to be named individual national champion in a single year and the 4th to be either individual national champion or national athlete of the year in a single year. Following her win at the Long Beach Grand Prix on March 18, 2017, she moved into #1 in FIE world rankings, becoming the first American woman to hold the #1 position. She qualified to represent the United States in fencing at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and reached the final in the individual foil. In the final, she defeated Inna Deriglazova, the defending champion from Russia, with a score of 15–13 to win gold, becoming the first American, male or female, to win the gold medal in Olympic individual foil. She represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, in the women's foil and women's team foil, winning gold medals in both."Lee Kiefer,"
Olympics.com. Kiefer defended her gold medal in the individual foil, defeating Lauren Scruggs in the all-USA final.

Personal life

Kiefer and fellow foil fencer

began dating in January 2012. They were engaged in January 2018 and married in September 2019.

Medal record

Olympic Games

World Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup

Pan American Championship

NCAA Championship

References

External links

*
Lee Kiefer
at USA Fencing * * *
Lee Kiefer
at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics (archived
alternate link
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiefer, Lee 1994 births Living people American female foil fencers 21st-century American sportswomen American sportspeople of Filipino descent Fencers at the 2011 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2023 Pan American Games Fencers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Notre Dame Fighting Irish fencers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in fencing Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in fencing Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in fencing Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Lexington, Kentucky) alumni People from Cleveland Sportspeople from Cleveland Sportspeople from Lexington, Kentucky University of Kentucky College of Medicine alumni World Fencing Championships medalists