Fencing: Team USA’s Lee Kiefer reigns supreme in the women’s individual foil at Paris 2024
Lee Kiefer outclassed her fellow American Lauren Scruggs to defend her gold medal in the women’s individual foil final at the Grand Palais on 28 July at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion won the match in dominant fashion, defeating Scruggs 15-6 in the first period.
“I'm still stunned,” said Kiefer. “I don't realize it happened just because it's been such a long day with a lot of highs and lows. But here we are making history, it's awesome.”
She advanced to the gold medal match after defeating Poland’s Martyna Jelinska, the People's Republic of China’s Huang Qianqian, Hungary’s Flora Pasztor and Italy’s Alice Volpi.
While Jelinska came close to upsetting the future gold medalist, it was Kiefer’s match against Volpi that proved to be one of the most intense encounters of the evening.
A tense back-and-forth match saw Kiefer emerge victorious after a series of uninterrupted touches at the start of the second period, much to the delight of those gathered at the Grand Palais. She advanced to the final, where she faced the unique prospect of battling her teammate for gold.
Gold medalist Lee Kiefer of the United States, flanked by silver medalist Lauren Scruggs of USA on the left and bronze medalist Eleanor Harvey of Canada on the right, all get a taste of their medals on the podium after the women's individual foil competition in fencing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on 28 July 2024.
Kiefer’s attempt to reclaim the women’s foil throne got off to a rough start when she accidentally stepped off the piste, gifting a point to Scruggs. However, Kiefer rebounded quickly to tie the score at one touch apiece.
She then launched a series of attacks delivered with near-surgical precision. It was too much for Scruggs to defend, and Kiefer reigned supreme once again.
“No matter how much I tried to prepare, there's still so much pressure I put on myself to just fence well and stay present,” said Kiefer. “Each day was a rollercoaster, but here we are at the top.
“These have been the most epic last few days of my life, being on the boat for the parade at the Opening Ceremony and then just taking in the grandeur of the Grand Palais. This is not real life.”
While any loss is difficult to overcome, Scruggs was pleased with her performance at the Grand Palais.
“I'm definitely more happy than disappointed,” said the first-time Olympic medalist. “I generally would say I think it was shocking for me to be here in the first place. So I don't even think I've had time to process.”
A gritty day of matches saw Scruggs lodge victories against four opponents, including Canada’s Jessica Zi Jia Guo, who had beaten her at the NCAA championships earlier this year.
While her match against Kiefer didn’t go as she would have liked, Scruggs did find humor in her defeat.
Scoring a touch on the gold medalist after being unable to do so for much of the match, the crowd roared with encouraging approval. Scruggs acknowledged their support with a shrug of shoulders that seemed to imply, “what can you do?”
Nonetheless, she left the Grand Palais with unforgettable memories.
“This is insane,” said the silver medalist. “Just seeing the sheer amount of people who are interested in fencing and who want to support fencers is just amazing, because we don't really have that in America. So I'm just super grateful to be able to fence in front of such a big crowd and in such a beautiful space.”
Canada’s Eleanor Harvey was also stuck in a state of disbelief after becoming the first fencer from her nation to win a medal in fencing at the Olympic Games.
“I feel like I'm in a dream. I feel like somebody spiked my drink or something,” said an overjoyed Harvey, adding, “That's a joke. Sorry, I'm not funny right now. I’m in shock.”
She was awarded the bronze medal after defeating Italy’s Volpi 15-12 in the third-place match.
It was a shocking win for the fencer ranked 14th in the world, but one that meant all the much more since her mother was in the stands.
“She's made a lot of sacrifices for me,” said Harvey. “In Tokyo, she couldn't be there because no one could be there. So it's really, really cool that she was able to be here and watch me have the best fencing result of my life.”
Indeed, it was a truly magical day at the Grand Palais.
Fencing: women's individual foil podium
Gold: Lee Kiefer, USA
Silver: Lauren Scruggs, USA
Bronze: Eleanor Harvey, CAN