The medical student who can’t stop winning gold medals

livemint.com:

PARIS—Her parents are doctors. So are her siblings. Lee Kiefer is studying to be one, too.

But in her spare time, she just can’t stop winning gold medals. There may not be anyone on Team USA having a better Olympics than someone who already arrived in Paris as one of the most successful fencers of all time. First she claimed the gold medal in the women’s foil individual event on Saturday.

Then she led the women’s foil squad to a historic team gold on Thursday night. At the last Olympics, she became the first American to win individual foil gold. At this Olympics, she was part of the first U.S.

fencing team to win gold. Kiefer now has three gold medals, the most of anyone in Team USA fencing history. And by far the most of anyone in the University of Kentucky’s medical school.

Before she became a double Olympic champion, it was Kiefer’s plan to have a stethoscope around her neck instead of a bunch of medals. But after finishing two years of medical school, she’s been on a leave of absence since 2021. She has said she plans to return to her studies next year and will spend the next few months recuperating from her time in Paris.

All of which means Kiefer has to figure out when to trade her sword for a scalpel. She won’t be the first Olympian who stabs people before saving their lives. As it turns out, there are many American fencers who become doctors when their careers are done.

Some of them are members of her own family. The difference is Kiefer is still one of the best fencers in the world—and she’s only gotten better since enrolling in medical school. Kiefer likes to say that fencing and medicine is all she has ever known since she was born.