USA’s Lee Kiefer sets record with her third Olympic fencing gold medal

Lee Kiefer became the first American fencer to win three Olympic gold medals. The U.S. won its first-ever team gold in the women’s foil event at the Paris Olympics on Thursday.

The team, consisting of two-time individual gold medalist Kiefer, silver medalist Lauren Scruggs, Jacqueline Dubrovich and Maia Weintraub, defeated Italy 45-39 in the final.

Scruggs had to face Italy’s Arianna Errigo in the final stages, who reduced her eight-point lead over the US to three. However, the 21-year-old took the next three points to decide the victory, which she celebrated with a shout of joy.

Weintraub, the U.S. replacement, was substituted in the final and immediately faced Italy’s most experienced fencer, 2012 gold medalist Errigo. That didn’t faze Weintraub, who went 6-4 against Errigo and 11-5 in her two matchups.

Kiefer previously turned the semifinal against Canada around, winning by a combined 23-12 in her three matchups, including a 13-4 win over 16-year-old Yunjia Zhang when the U.S. trailed by four points. The U.S. won that matchup 45-39.

The US now has four fencing medals at the Paris Olympics, and for the first time two gold medals at the same Games. They also won their first team gold medal.

An American fencer, Albertson Van Zo Post, won two gold medals at the 1904 St. Louis Games, but one of them was a team event in which he competed with two Cuban fencers. That medal is officially considered a “mixed team” victory, not an American gold medal.