Lee Kiefer, the first American foil fencer in history to win an individual Olympic gold medal, recently won her second individual gold medal in the women’s foil at the Summer 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on Sunday, July 28.
Kiefer won the game against her teammate Lauren Scruggs by 15-6 and is preparing for her next women’s team foil game on August 1, 2024.
The 30 year-old Lee Kiefer previously won the individual women’s foil gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She also helped her team win a gold medal in the World Championship in Wuxi, China, in the 2018 game.
Kiefer has also competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games and is a four-time NCAA champion.
Likewise, Lee Kiefer comes from a fencing family, and her exceptional foil fencing performances have inspired and given hope to several young athletes.
Lee Kiefer was born to a family with diverse ethical background
Lee Kiefer was born to parents of different ethnicities in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother, Teresa Oropilla Kiefer, is a Filipino and has her ancestry in the Philippines, whereas her father, Steven Kiefer, is an American from Lexington, Kentucky.
Kiefer’s mother, Teresa, immigrated to the United States from Manila, Philippines, with her mother, Dr. Teresita Bacani-Oropilla, in 1973.
Moreover, being born and raised in a family with different ethical and cultural backgrounds, Kiefer follows her parents’ traditions.
She also often shares about her Filipino heritage on social media, wearing traditional clothes and celebrating her Filipino festival.
Both Lee Kiefer’s parents, Steven and Teresa Kiefer are medical professionals
Lee Kiefer’s father, Steven Kiefer, is a Neurosurgeon at Baptist Health Lexington and the owner of Neurosurgical Associates.
Steven Kiefer also has a Bachelor’s in arts and history from Duke University. He was the former Duke University fencing team captain in the 1980s.
Furthermore, in a Facebook post in 2016, Lee Kiefer stated that her father created her Olympic dreams and then pushed her to be one of the great fencing stars.
Regarding Lee’s mother, Teresa A. Oropilla Kiefer is a psychiatrist with a medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
Teresa has been providing medical services to people suffering from anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, and depression for more than 20 years.
Additional Information
- Lee Kiefer has two siblings. Her brother Axel, a former captain of the University of Kentucky Fencing Team, holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. He is a two-time NCAA Champion and A three-time First Team All-American, demonstrating his prowess in sports and academics. Her sister, Alex Kiefer, is a former Harvard foil fencer and 2011 NCAA Champion who is a doctor.
- She is married to well-known foil fencer Gerek Meinhardt, who won the gold medal in the World Championships in the 2019 Budapest foil fencing game and represented Team Men’s Foil in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
- Lee has a medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and attended the University of Notre Dame.
