All hail the Stars and Stripes! It was 2008 when Americans did a podium sweep in Beijing in saber. Mariel Zagunis beat Sada Jacobson after 104 years in an All-American battle at the Olympics. 16 years later, we’re witnessing history as Lee Kiefer takes a lunge and Lauren Scruggs parries in an unprecedented contest.

The defending champion from the Tokyo Olympics is back to take on Harvard student Scruggs, who is at least assured a silver, if not gold; if Kiefer manages to ‘foil’ her attempts, she will take on the title of ‘Queen of Fencing’. Why? Because no one has won more than 2 medals for the USA in fencing—either in men’s or women’s events—and Lee Kiefer is scripting history!

For a person who is the 2023 Grand Prix winner and the third-place holder at the 2023 World Fencing Championships for a second consecutive year, no one would believe Kiefer is a student-athlete. Or was, before her sporting success came at her with extraordinary speed. Although she went pro early and made her world championship debut at the tender age of 15 in 2009, Kiefer’s success in Tokyo still surprised her to a degree.

“There was just so much heightened emotion, and I was honestly in disbelief,” she said afterward. “And to this day, I still have that feeling.” But if Kiefer manages to win today, her disbelief is only going to grow.

Not to say that her compatriot isn’t just as impressive. The result of this final notwithstanding, Scruggs has already become the first US black woman to individually medal in a women’s event at the Olympics. Defeating World No. 1 Arianna Errigo in the round of 8, Scruggs caused a huge upset in the last 30 seconds as a first-time Olympian. It was a chance for Errigo to defend her silver medal from Tokyo, but now the honor will either go to Scruggs or Kiefer.

Fortunately for the defending champion, the UK College of Medicine allowed her to put her studies on hold and focus on fencing. “I was trying to figure out what direction my life was going after Tokyo,” Kiefer told The Winchester Sun. “I really wanted to keep fencing because I still love it and enjoy doing it. I felt like I could keep growing my skills, my routine. However, the biggest obstacle was the UK College of Medicine. I was not sure they would let me continue, which would have been totally understandable.”

But they will let her continue whenever Kiefer decides to return. For now, she’s enjoying success as a world champion and representing her country at the Olympics.

In addition to her teammates, there’s, of course, her fencer husband. Even though the two may be staying in separate quarters in the village in Paris, the USA’s first fencing couple credits each other for their successes.

“Winning a medal was kind of like getting married”: Lee Kiefer

Couples in the same sport go back to at least 1906, when French tennis players Max and Marie Decugis competed in a special version of the Olympic Games in Athens. Fast forward to 2024, and Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt are the embodiment of a power couple, in sports or otherwise.

“We want each other to win so badly,” Meinhardt told the LA Times. “Having seen how much work we both put into it, the things we’ve gone through to get there, it’s stressful.” Working in the same sport certainly comes in handy because they know how to show each other grace, as Meinhardt puts it.

And they’ve also taught each other something! “Because of him, I think I’m more of a dynamic fencer and try to be creative,” Kiefer said. “And I have taught him how to be scrappy and dirty.”

Both are now competing in Paris and while Kiefer is in the finals already, Meinhardt’s individual events begin tomorrow. Before the Games began, Kiefer told the press in Paris, “Winning a medal was kind of like getting married. You’re there, and there’s a lot of excitement, but you only remember what happened by seeing the pictures later.”

Well, in the City of Love, medals and romance are certainly not in short supply!