Lee Kiefer.Photo: Elsa/Getty
A historic win.
Fencer Lee Kiefer, who is also a medical student at the University of Kentucky, made Team USA proud on Sunday, picking up their first-ever fencing gold medal for individual foil, winning 15-13.
Even more impressive? The 27-year-old athlete won against Inna Deriglazova of the Russian Olympic Committee, who came into theTokyo Summer Olympicsranked No. 1 in the world.
“What just happened?'' she said afterwards, according toUSA Today.
Lee Kiefer.Matthias Hangst/Getty
Kiefer also got a big congratulations from her husband — a fellow medical student and Team USA fencer.
“My wife just made my #Olympics dream complete,” Gerek Meinhardt, a four-time Olympian who’s currently ranked No. 2 in the world, wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of the pair posing with her gold medal.
“Words can’t describe how bad she wanted this, how hard she worked, or how proud of her I am,” he added. “Thank you ALL for the incredible words of support. We felt each one of them. @TeamUSA @USAFencing HISTORY!!!”
Kiefer, who failed to medal in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, withdrew from medical school earlier this year in order to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, perUSA Today. However, she plans on going back to school in March.
As for how she was feeling after her win she said she wished she could “chop it up in little pieces and distribute it to everyone that I love.”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
