Three-time Olympian Lee Kiefer Looks to Make U.S. Foil Fencing History at the Tokyo Olympics 2020

Lee Kiefer is a right-handed American foil fencer who is the current World No. 5. The 27-year-old will look to make history as the first U.S. woman to win a gold at an individual foil competition. 

The University of Kentucky medical student will make her third appearance at the Olympics looking to win gold for the U.S. alongside her husband Gerek Meinhardt, the current World No. 2 among male foil fencers.

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Fencing family 

Her father introduced her to the sport at a young age. Steven Kiefer was a one-time captain of the Duke University fencing team. He taught the sport to all three of his kids who went on to win national and international laurels.

Her older sister, Alex Kiefer, was an NCAA foil fencing champion for Harvard. Her younger brother, Axel, was an NCAA runner-up for Notre Dame in 2019. Fencing has been a part of Lee and her family’s life for a long time. 

Winning an Olympic gold would realize her family’s dreams as she looks to win individual and team medals at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Lee Kiefer’s fencing career

 Lee Kiefer was a Four-time NCAA Champion in foil fencing, competing as a 17-year-old undergrad at Notre Dame. She is a ten-time team Pan American champion, nine-time individual Pan American champion, 2018 team world champion, and three-time Olympian.

Lee Kiefer made her Olympic debut at the 2012 London Olympics; she finished fifth in the individual competition and sixth in the team competition. In her second appearance at the Rio Olympics 2016, she finished tenth in the individual competition.

In 2017, she became the first U.S. female foil fencer to secure the World No. 1 ranking. She is by far the best fencer that the sport of female foil fencing in the U.S. has seen. If all goes well, she will finally win medals at an Olympic game on her third attempt.