Tag: Mariel Zagunis

Photos of former Notre Dame fencer Lee Kiefer winning second gold

Back-to-back for Lee!

[autotag]Lee Kiefer[/autotag] made history at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. She became the first U.S. fencer, male or female, to win a gold medal in the individual foil. A few years later at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, she’s proven she’s not ready to give that gold medal up.

Kiefer won her second individual foil gold medal in as many Olympics. The former Notre Dame fencer did so by defeating fellow U.S. fencer Lauren Scruggs, 15-6. Scruggs is the first U.S. fencer to win a silver in this event. The bronze went to Canada’s Eleanor Harvey.

Kiefer became the second U.S. fencer to win two individual Olympic golds, joining two-time sabre gold medalist Mariel Zagunis. And she did in front of husband and fellow former Notre Dame fencer [autotag]Gerek Meinhardt[/autotag] 24 hours ahead of his own quest for an individual foil medal.

If you missed Kiefer’s historic day, take a look at these photos:

Notre Dame athletes who have won medals at the Summer Olympics

These Notre Dame products have done well on sports’ biggest stage.

After being delayed by one year, the 2020 Olympic Games are underway in Tokyo. Notre Dame has a record 20 current and former student-athletes seeking that coveted gold medal in this competition and the Paralympics. You can keep track of all of them here. With all of those names, the chances of at least one of them winning any medal are extremely high.

Notre Dame’s Olympic history goes back to 1912. While not every Olympian to go through South Bend has won a medal, quite a few of them have done just that. A few even won medals while representing countries other than the U.S. It’s a testament to how Notre Dame leaves no stone unturned when it comes to recruiting talent for its athletic program.

As we prepare to cheer on this year’s Olympians who have donned the Irish uniform, let’s look back at those who have made it to the podium in previous summer competitions: