Lee Kiefer, center, with her gold medal on the NBC Today Show in Tokyo. (USA Fencing Photo)
What impact could Lexington’s Lee Kiefer winning a gold medal in individual foil at the recent Tokyo Olympics have on fencing in Kentucky?
“Hopefully it will encourage more people to try fencing, especially younger girls,” said the 27-year-old Kiefer. “I think that would be very cool.”
She understands most people know very little about fencing but her Olympic performance could help change that.
“I think people have trouble with fencing. The rules are a little tricky. There are not many clubs. Hopefully, people will do research and find out we have a world-renowned coach in the Bluegrass,” Kiefer said.
That coach is Amgad Kahzbak of Bluegrass Fencers’ Club in Lexington. He has been Kiefer’s coach since 2004 and was with her and her husband, Gerek Meinhardt, in Tokyo. He has out-of-state students along with some from other countries. Keifer credits him for helping to push and drive her in her gold medal quest.
Kiefer’s father, surgeon Steve Kiefer, understands even an Olympic gold medal won’t generate the attention in Lexington that UK basketball and football do but appreciates all the support his daughter has received.
“People take interest and that obviously will probably increase a lot more now,” he said.
Lee Kiefer knew former UK athletes won gold medals in men’s basketball as well as track. However, she joked that her “social media is basically broken” because of her gold medal performance.
“So many people wished me luck and then all the congratulations and well wishes after I won gold just overwhelmed me. I still can’t get to all the messages,” Kiefer said.
She “posted a fair amount” of pictures on her social media accounts when she got to the Olympic Village in Tokyo because she knew family and friends would enjoy them.
“Then I kind of went silent before my event to get focused,” she said. “I am still navigating social media.”
However, plenty know about her. An interview she did with NBC-TV after her win now has about 430,000 views on YouTube (you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFqlFXQF408).
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On Monday: Kiefer will share insights on how even at 5-4, 110 pounds she can intimidate opponents.
