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She Fenced Like a Champion
As the sporting world navigates any number of contentious issues, there are athletes that labor in obscurity. They are not as well known as athletes in other sports, but they work just as hard to succeed.
Lee Kiefer became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the women’s individual foil event and earned Team USA’s first fencing medal of the Tokyo games. She defeated reigning Olympic champion Inna Deriglazova 15-13 to capture her first career Olympic medal after finishing fifth in London.
She is one of 11 current, and former Notre Dame fencers that are competing in the Tokyo Olympics. Lee graduated from Notre Dame in 2017. She is currently a student at the University of Kentucky medical school.
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Published in Sports
That was wonderful. Thanks, Doug, for posting this. This young woman is incredible. I’d love to see a video of her championship match. A quick search didn’t yield any good results.
What an incredible young woman! Good for her! I’m glad she is representing the USA!
I hope she gets a cameo in Pirates of the Caribbean XII.
So happy to hear! I celebrate the achievements of all athletes who are proud to represent the USA.
Great news!
My heart still belongs to Mariel and the sabre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI1NC7HLYPY
And she’s doesn’t mind helping others:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfBOR49204Y
Mariel, another member of the 11 former, and current Notre Dame fencers who will be competing in the Tokyo Olympics. She attended Valley Catholic School in Beaverton, OR. A Kindergarten through 12th grade school. She earned her first Olympic gold medal at 19 years of age. Sabre is her choice of weapon.
As was mine. There are a couple of sayings about sabre fencers:
“Foil fencers talk about the techniques of fencing. Épée fencers talk about the esoterics of fencing. Sabre fencers talk about themselves.”
~ Nick Evangelista 1996 ~
“If you want to find out about fencers, go up behind one as he faces a practice target. Burst a balloon behind his back. The foilist will immediately lunge at the pad. The épéeist will stand his ground, immobile but alert. The sabreur will swing round and assault you.”
~ Hungarian axiom ~
And then this general principle which applies to our shrinking military:
“Those who beat their swords into ploughshares may one day find themselves ruled by those of us who kept their swords.”
~ Unknown ~
Foil fencing scores hits only to the torso, smallest target. The foil has a small circular guard to deflect or help trap thrusts.
Sabre scores waist up, including the arms. Its guard wraps around the hand to protect against slashing and thrusts.
Épée scores literally from head to toe, and has a deep bowl guard to deflect thrusts to the hand and forearm.
Both foil and Épée score only thrusts with the tip, saber counts both cut and thrust. Hence, the épéeist must be the most cautious and strategic in offense, as even the movement forward of the lead leg is offering a target for counterattack.
I remember Notre Dame as an elite program that even imported talent way back in the early 1980s.
Women’s sabre is underway, Monday 26 July in Japan, with Zagunis now in the round of 16 remaining competitors. The gold medal bout happens before dawn in America, late this evening in Japan.
It should surprise no one that a Hungarian dominated men’s sabre:
Like judo and some other combat sports, and unlike much of the rest of Olympic events, you see multiple bouts in one day. Hence a gold medal on Day 1 of competition.
And in epee, both fencers get a point for simultaneous touches.
We had one fencer in our club who fenced the epee in the most aggressive fashion anyone had ever seen. It usually stymied his opponents, especially the first time when they weren’t expecting it.
I’m so far down Cynics’ Lane that one of my first thoughts was to wonder how many letters UK Med School has received suggesting she be expelled for the kind of exclusivist, jingoistic behavior she displayed to the world in the OP pic. Inclusion and Diversity must be the main goal any [Fill-in-the-Dicipline] School must inculcate.
Fencing program at Texas A&M (couldn’t help myself).
I’ve fenced like that! About 200 yards worth, one summer.
foil, épée, sabre, bêche tarière
Dos fort, esprit faible.