Lee Kiefer Took a Break From Medical School to Make U.S. Olympic Fencing History

Lee Kiefer—now the first American fencer in history to own three Olympic gold medals and the first American woman to win two fencing golds at a single Games—cried on the top of the podium Thursday night at the Grand Palais, shedding more tears, and singing the national anthem louder, than any of her teammates. Kiefer didn’t show such emotion on Sunday, when she won her second straight individual Olympic gold medal in foil fencing. Kiefer knew she still had to put in the work to her fellow Americans a gold medal too. “We did this together,” said Kiefer after the U.S. defeated Italy in a tense gold medal match in team foil on Thursday. “And it’s the first time I can start to breathe and take it all in.”  

In an historic evening for American fencing, Team USA defeated Italy on 45-39 on Thursday, also giving the United States its first national team fencing gold medal in Olympic history (in 1904, Albertson Post of the United States won a team gold in foil on a mixed-nation squad, along with two Cuban fencers.) The U.S. entered the final round with a 40-32 advantage—45 touches win the match—but Italy’s Arrianna Errigo went on a run against the U.S. team’s anchor fencer, Lauren Scruggs, who lost to Kiefer in individual foil final on Sunday, to cut the lead to 42-39. Then Scruggs, however, aggressively attacked Errigo to stop the bleeding: with two more Scruggs touches, the duel was done.

Maia Mei Weintraub and Jacqueline Dubrovich joined Kiefer and Scruggs in winning gold.  

Kiefer outscored her opponents 14-13 during her three rounds, setting a tone by giving the U.S. an early 5-4 lead, which Scruggs then increased to 10-5 after the second. The U.S. was able to hold on this early cushion. “There’s no fencer in the world who’s like she is,” says Ralf Bissdorf, head coach of the U.S. foil team. “She can hit you wherever she wants. She's extremely versatile on defense and offense … I wouldn't know how to coach against her on the other side.”

Kiefer grew up in Lexington, Ky., her dad Steve a neurosurgeon, her mother Theresa a psychiatrist who immigrated to the United States from the Philippines as a child. Both Kiefer and her husband, fellow U.S. Olympic fencer Gerek Meinhardt, met at Notre Dame and are both medical students, on leave while training for the Olympics, at the University of Kentucky. Being part of a fencing couple comes with perks. You travel the world with your spouse, and in the spring, for example, the pair snuck off to Vietnam for a few days after a tournament in Hong Kong.

On the flipside, that’s a lot of time to spend with your significant other. “He likes to anticipate my sentences and fill in my blanks because I talk too slow, and he's wrong 90% of the time,” said Kiefer, slowly, during an interview with TIME before the Games. “We get in little arguments all the time. I'm a hothead. We get over it in 30 seconds.” 

While competing and prepping for Paris, Kiefer has worked as a helpline volunteer at the Kentucky Health Justice Network, a reproductive rights non-profit. “We have callers who are requesting something from transportation support to financial support or what resources are out there,” Kiefer said during a roundtable discussion at the USOPC Media Summit in New York City in April. “That's crazy that it's so hard to access correct information.” Kentucky banned abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022; the state’s residents often travel to Illinois, Virginia and Ohio to seek care, says Kiefer. 

Kiefer became interested in reproductive rights after winning her Tokyo gold. “For most my life, I was like someone who didn't think about these things,” she said. Then a friend sent her an amicus brief, ultimately signed by Kiefer and more than 500 female athletes, arguing in favor of reproductive rights.

“Female athletes need our bodies for our jobs,” said Kiefer. “I was like, what the f-ck, you're so right. Then I just kept thinking about it. Obviously I’m impassioned right now.” She spoke through tears. 

“I’m sorry, I'm getting tired and excited,” said Kiefer. “And then I cry. “It's a normal thing for me to do.”

After her historic second gold in Paris—and third Olympic title overall—Kiefer told TIME during a quiet moment in the Grand Palais that she’d continue to volunteer for the Kentucky Health Justice Network when she returned home. She’s enthusiastic about resuming her advocacy. The organization, she says, “has been cheering for me, sending me messages so yeah, I've been honestly shutting off probably politics and heavy stuff while I'm here but I, yeah, I am so excited.” 

Despite locking in on fencing for Paris, she’s attuned to the political events back home. She’ll support Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. “She's the one who has the experience,” says Kiefer. “She is the one who cares about social rights. She is the direction we need to go in.”

Kiefer was non-committal, however, in confirming previously-announced plans that these Olympics, her fourth, will be her last, and that she’ll return to medical school in the summer of 2025. “I’m just thinking about enjoying these medals,” said Kiefer. “I’m going to shut off for a few months.” 

“Great question, though.” 

The fruits of Olympics greatness first. The books can wait.