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Team USA upsets top-ranked Italy to win first-ever gold in Women's Foil Fencing at 2024 Olympics

Alex Weberby: Alex Weber08/01/24Alexhweber
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(Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

The American women have made history, winning Team USA’s first Olympic gold medal in team fencing, men’s or women’s, as they triumphed in the Women’s Team Foil competition over Italy.

The Americans were led by Lee Kiefer, a Lexington, KY native and University of Kentucky med school student, also a decorated former Notre Dame fencer and graduate, who won gold for the second straight Olympic in the Women’s Individual Foil. She was joined by Laureen Scruggs, Jackie Dubrovich and Maia Weintraub, who defeated the Italians in the final match.

Scruggs, a current Harvard student, nabbed the winning point. Meanwhile, Dubrovich is a Columbia alum, while Weintraub is currently attending Princeton.

After winning gold again in 2024, her second straight, Keifer became the first American woman to win two Olympic gold medals in individual foil. Sunday also marked the first time ever that the United States had two women in the individual foil finals as she defeated teammate Laureen Scruggs in the final bout.

Kiefer’s second individual gold medal win made the four-time Olympian the most decorated female fencer in U.S. history, and this team one only widens the gap. She’s also taken home six Grand Prix gold medals, five World Cup gold medals, and 12 gold medals at the Pan American Championship for individual women’s foil in her career.

In the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games held in 2021, Kiefer became the first American male or female to win the gold medal in Olympic Individual Foil, defeating the Russian defending champion Inna Deriglazova in a 15–13 final. This time around, USA dominated the individual competition, with Kiefer returning the final only to see a familiar face in Scruggs.

Kiefer bested her fellow American to take another gold while Scruggs had to settle for silver. Her week still went pretty well, as Scruggs would win the final point to award USA their first team fencing medal in history. She goes home with two medals now.