As the extended summer sunset fades over Paris—turning the streets from orange to lavender—Lee Kiefer, 30, the most decorated American fencer in Olympic history, sits relaxed at Ralph’s Café on the terrace of Team USA House. The streets are buzzing with energy, and Kiefer herself has a quiet glow.
But when she reveals her women’s team foil gold medal—the first gold that any American, male or female, has won in the category at the Games—the atmosphere turns from twilit-electric to something almost ecclesiastical. The buzz around us hushes, and the light seems to shift and concentrate on the medal’s gleaming accordion facets and dark iron core.
“It’s beautiful, right?” Kiefer asks, offering to let me hold it. (I had not seen or touched Olympic gold before, so thank you, Lee, for rendering the coolest moment of my Games reporting yet.)
On Paris’s first Thursday, Kiefer, along with teammates Lauren Scruggs, Jackie Dubrovich, and Maia Weintraub, clinched this historic medal after defeating Italy 45-39 beneath the Grand Palais’s recently renovated iron-and-glass domes. The win was an act of redemption, too—Italy had kept the US women’s team from the medal podium in Tokyo.
Kiefer also holds two individual women’s foil golds: one from Paris before the team final (in that event, she defeated Scruggs, who took silver in a one-two American finish), and one from Tokyo. She’s in the rare, halcyon hattrick club.
Based in Lexington, Kentucky, Kiefer comes from a fencing family. Her father, Steve, was once captain of Duke University’s fencing team. Her siblings, Axel and Alex, are also fencers—and she’s married to Gerek Meinhardt, a fellow fencer on Team USA. Kiefer is a four time Olympian, having first competed at the London Games in 2012.
Here, Kiefer speaks with Vogue about her legacy-making wins, the team’s high-trust dynamic, and needing to catch up on Olympic memes.
Vogue: Congratulations on your wins here in Paris, Lee. How are you feeling now, in this moment, with two new golds and your competitions complete?
Lee Kiefer: I’m still trying to process everything. With the individual gold, no matter how much I prepared myself, there was still a lot of pressure. I put a lot of pressure on myself with the dream of another medal. Actually executing it and doing it is still surprising to me. I didn’t celebrate that one too much, though, because we still had the team event. We’d been working so hard to become a cohesive, professional unit, and we’ve had glimmers—we won a World Cup, and we’ve had a lot of exciting bouts.
But it was all about putting it together at the right time, at the right place: here in Paris. And we did. The team-win feeling is really one of true elation. It’s absolute joy.
What do you feel clicked that day? What gelled to get you to the gold level?
Over the course of the last few years, we’ve learned that we all have different strengths and weaknesses, but we are all fighters, no matter what. Obviously, none of us like to lose, but if something is not going well, we’re going to keep putting out that effort, and this has generated a lot of trust. I don’t feel scared or nervous when my teammates fence, even if they lose, or if I lose. There aren’t repercussions. There’s just a lot of trust.
How has your experience been in Paris? You’re staying at the Athlete Village, right?
I’ve been there since the day it opened! The cardboard beds actually have pretty cool technology: You can change the firmness and softness if you want. And the United States Olympic Paralympic Committee provided air conditioning units and fans, so we’re in good shape. And it’s very secure… Fort Knox Hotel!
What do you have planned once the Games are finished? At one point, you were in med school—will you go back?
I think I need to process everything. I’ve been away from school for a long time—it’s going to be scary to go back, I think. I need to keep assessing my relationship with fencing, and think about what the next steps are with my family. A lot of different things. I’m a little scared, but excited. But we are going to rest a little bit first.
Yes, deservedly so. Take the rest of the year off.
Thank you! I will take that.
What is your favorite Olympic meme so far?
Meme?! I have been too busy to see any memes. I’ve been out of competition mode for, like, three hours now. I will catch up, though.
Looking around now, what, to you, is the most magical thing about Paris?
The history of fencing in France is my favorite thing. Being able to perform under the lights of the Grand Palais… that was pure magic.