Tokyo Olympics: Taiwanese Americans lead U.S. fencing team to a bronze medal.

USA FENCING

Alexander Massialas, 2nd from right, and Gerek Meinhardt, far right, were part of the U.S.
team winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, Sunday.

After a close loss to the Russian Olympic Committee in the semifinals, the U.S. men's foil team rallied to beat Japan 45-31 in the bronze medal match. 

Two of the  fencers who took on the trio from the home team were Alexander Massialas and Gerek Meinhardt, were Taiwanese Americans. They were joined by Race Imboden with Nick Itkin also having competed up until the second leg of the quarterfinal. 

The bronze is the second fencing medal for Team USA after Filipino American Lee Kiefer won gold in the women's individual foil. 

It is also the second consecutive bronze for the American men -- Meinhardt, Massialas and Imboden -- after the team beat Italy in Rio de Janiero in 2016. 

In the semifinals, the U.S. were upset by the Russian team, 45-41 in a see-saw battle with the lead exchanging several times before the ROC team came from behind to beat the Americans.

USA FENCING

Filipino American fencer Lee Kiefer made history with her gold medal win in individual foil.

On Saturday, the U.S. women's foil team of Lee Kierfer, Jackie Dubrovich, Nicole Ross and Taiwanese American Sabrina Massialas, lost its bid for a bronze medal when  it lost to Italy, 45-23. The U.S. women fenced for the bronze after giving the ROC team its stiffest test of the evening by losing 45-42. The Russians went on to easily win the gold by beating France, 45-23.

In the women's gold medal match, France demolished the team representing the Russian Olympic Committee, 45-28.

Newly crowned Olympic champion Kiefer said they were heartbroken that the U.S. women didn't win a medal, but fought hard the whole way.

“We lived like a family for five months and of course we wanted that medal,” said Kiefer, a Filipino American. “We’ve had such a fulfilling, beautiful journey that none of us knew was possible. We've taken our fencing to places that I think are incredible. I am filled with pride for my teammates. It hurts right now but we left it all out there. We have no regrets whatsoever.”

Tokyo Olympics: Filipino American fencer wins gold

 

SCREEN CAPTURE / NBC

Lee Kiefer with her historic Olympic gold medal.

UPDATED: July 26, 1:120 a.m.

Lee Kiefer became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the women's individual foil event and earned Team USA's first fencing medal of the Tokyo games. She defeated reigning Olympic champion Inna Deriglazova 15-13 to capture her first career Olympic medal after finishing fifth in London and 10th in Rio.

To win her gold medal, the 27-year old Filipino American, a medical student at the University of Kentucky, Kiefer went 5-0 in her matches. 

She won 15-4 over Singapore’s Arnita Berthier; 15-13 over Canada’s Eleanor Harvey, 15-11 over Japan’s Yuka Ueno; 15-6 over Russia’s Larisa Korobeynikova; 15-13 over Deriglazova in the gold medal match.

In the final point of the gold medal match, Deriglazova, knowing she was behind, was aggressive, charging at Kiefer, targeting Kiefer's chest. The Filipino American took a lunged forward going low making herself a smaller target and brought her foil upwards to score from below.

Watch the entire match below:

After the final point, Kiefer ripped off her mask and shouted "Oh my God!"

"What just happened? What just happened?"

After hugging her long-time coach Amgad Khazbak, she looked for her husband, Gerek Meinhardt, who is also an Olympic fencer competing in the men's foil. He was nearby.

“It was incredible,’’ Meinhardt said. “I know how hard she works every day, how much she wants it, how important a part of our lives fencing is.’’

Kiefer, a graduate of Notre Dame is a member of the Bluegrass Fencers' Club in Lexington, Kentucky, is a four-time NCAA champion and a nine-time individual Pan American champion.

"What just happened?' yelled Lee Kiefer after winning a gold medal in foil fencing.

Born in Cleveland and raised in Lexington, Kiefer grew up on the fencing ramp with her family. Her father, Steve, was a fencing captain at Duke. Her older sister, Alex, was an NCAA champion at Harvard. Her younger brother, Axel, has competed in the junior worlds. Kiefer said she was inspired by her father, now a neurosurgeon.

"Before I left, my dad wrote me a card, and he said that we have been on this journey. We have done our best and our pot of gold has been filled all along as we moved along and just being here is the icing on top," she told the Indianapolis Star.

"I just feel so much love and I have so much to give back to everyone. My dad pushed me from the beginning. We used to bump heads all the time because we are both so competitive and demand excellence, but here we are. Thank you, dad."

Kiefer’s mother, Teresa, is from the Philippines and a psychiatrist. The fencer joins a handful of prominent Filipino American Olympic medal winners, including diver Victoria Manolo Draves, figure skater Tai Babilonia, gymnast Kyla Ross and speed skater J.R. Celski.

Lee Kiefer celebrates after winning her final match.

Tokyo Olympics: U.S. fencing team has a point to prove

Gerek Meinhardt scores a point in foil.

Three Taiwanese Americans and a Filipino American are members of the United States Olympic Fencing Team. All of them will represent the U.S. in foil.

The U.S. fencing team had one of its best Olympic showings in Rio five years ago. Team USA brought home four medals, including bronze in men’s foil and women’s saber and individual medals in men’s foil and men’s saber.

With 18 competitors nnd six replacements, the U.S. sending its largest fencing team to Tokyo. Four of the AAPI members are expected to win medals.

Following are the four AAPI fencers:

Gerek Meinhardt, Men's Foil

Taiwanese American Gerek Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif. / Massialas Foundation / Notre Dame) was one of five athletes who earned his qualification spot for Tokyo prior to the yearlong shutdown of competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The youngest male fencer to represent Team USA in history, Meinhardt was just 18 years old when he competed at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. He went on to compete at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, earning bronze in the team event in Rio. The only U.S. man to win two individual medals at the Senior World Championships (bronze in 2010 and 2015), Meinhardt also was a member of the team that won its first-ever Senior World Championship gold in 2019 as well as the squads that earned three silvers in 2013, 2017 and 2018. Meinhardt qualified for his fourth Olympic Team in 2020 after winning his second international medal of the season with gold at the Torino Grand Prix. In the first tournament after the COVID-19 shutdown, Meinhardt won gold at the Doha Grand Prix in March and is now ranked No. 2 in the world. Meinhardt will fence in Tokyo with his wife, foil fencer Lee Kiefer (See below). Both Meinhardt and Kiefer also are students at the University of Kentucky Medical School where Kiefer is in her third year and Meinhardt his first.

Alexander Massialas, Men's Foil

The reigning individual silver medalist from the 2016 Olympic Games, Taiwanese American Alexander Massialas (San Francisco, Calif. / Massialas Foundation / Stanford) secured his position on his third straight Olympic Team with a silver medal finish at the Torino Grand Prix in 2020, followed by a bronze medal win in Cairo. Now ranked No. 5 in the world, Massialas won individual silver at the 2015 Senior World Championships and holds four Senior World medals in the team events, including gold in 2019. Three members of the Massialas family will be represented on Team USA with three-time Olympian Greg Massialas serving as the men’s foil team coach and Alexander’s sister, Sabrina Massialas (See below), who will travel as the replacement athlete for the women’s foil team.

Lee Kiefer, Women's Foil

After winning bronze at the 2011 Senior World Championships as a 17-year-old, Filipino American Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky. / Bluegrass Fencers’ Club / Notre Dame) has gone on to become one of the most successful women’s foil fencers in history, winning 20 individual medals on the World Cup circuit and leading Team USA to three podium finishes at the Senior World Championships, including the squad’s first-ever gold in 2018. Ranked No. 5 in the world, Kiefer is in her third year of medical school at the University of Kentucky and is eyeing the ability to add both “doctor” and “Olympic medalist” to her long resume.

Sabrina Massialas, Women's Foil

The younger sister of Alexander, Sabrina Massialas (San Francisco, Calif. / Massialas Foundation / Notre Dame) followed in her brother’s footsteps with a successful junior career that included individual gold at the 2016 Junior World Championships and winning the 2014 Youth Olympic Games title. A 2017 Senior World Team member, Sabrina Massialas battled injuries throughout her career, but earned a position as the replacement athlete for the women’s foil team after a top-32 result in Doha.

The U.S. Olympic fencing roster will be the largest in history should all 24 athletes compete in Tokyo.

Women’s Sabre
Mariel Zagunis, Eliza Stone, Dagmara Wozniak, Francesca Russo

Men’s Sabre
Eli Dershwitz, Daryl Homer, Andrew Mackiewicz, Khalil Thompson

Women’s Foil
Lee Kiefer, Jackie Dubrovich, Nicole Ross, Sabrina Massialas

Men’s Foil
Gerek Meinhardt, Alexander Massialas, Nick Itkin, Race Imboden

Women’s Foil
Lee Kiefer, Jackie Dubrovich, Nicole Ross, Sabrina Massialas

Men’s Foil
Gerek Meinhardt, Alexander Massialas, Nick Itkin, Race Imboden

Women’s Epee
Courtney Hurley, Kelley Hurley, Katharine Holmes, Anna van Brummen

Men’s Epee
Jake Hoyle, Curtis McDowald, Yeisser Ramirez, Alen Hadzic