U.S. women fencers won big at the Olympics. Will it bring more respect and attention?
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Lee Kiefer of Team United States (L) fought her way to a gold medal in the individual women's foil competition and helped lead her team to a first-ever gold medal against Italy, one of the best fencing teams in the world.Patrick Smith / Getty Images -
Hadley Husisian (L) and Anne Cebula fence with a type of sword called an epee, a long needle of steel tipped with a button that registers points or "touches" against opponents. They say dueling in the Olympics in Paris's Grand Palais before massive crowds was extraordinary and hope the attention will boost their sport.Brian Mann / NPR -
Hadley Husisian grips her epee, which is tipped with a button that marks points or "touches." There are three disciplines in fencing with three different weapons: the epee, the foil and the saber. Each type of duel is fought with different rules and different strategies.Brian Mann / NPR -
Jacqueline Dubrovich, Maia Weintraub, Lauren Scruggs and Lee Kiefer celebrate winning against Team Italy during the fencing women's foil team gold medal match at the Grand Palais in Paris.Clive Brunskill / Getty Images
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PARIS — U.S. women wrapped up Olympic fencing competitions with a first-ever team gold medal for the women's foil squad, a win that came over an Italian women's team - one of the world's best.
"That last bout was super tough," said Lauren Scruggs, who fought the final duel in team competition against Arianna Errigo. "I was obviously going up against an Italian legend. She really brought it to me."
"We’ve put in the work and it shows," said Lee Kiefer, who also won individual gold in Olympic foil. "It’s just putting it together on the biggest stage, and here we are."
The win for the U.S., and the silver medal finish for the Italians, added to a growing rivalry between the countries.
This moment also offers a shot for the American women at more attention and support back home.
This year's matches played out on the biggest stage, in one of the most spectacular venues ever for American fencers, the picturesque Grand Palais, built for the Paris Exhibition of 1900.
"It’s the coliseum, you feel like you’re in the coliseum, it's just crazy," said Anne Cebula, an American epee fencer, who wasn't part of the gold medal-winning foil team.
"Walking out in like this beautiful venue when the stands were just filled to the ceiling, that was incredible," said her teammate Hadley Husisian. "I had to kind of like battle back my smile."
Fencing is divided into three disciplines, fought with three different types of weapon: the foil, the epee and the saber. Normally crowds for the sport are tiny.
"Like at world championships, there were like ten people," Cebula said with a laugh.
Which is ironic because sword fighting is a mainstay in pop culture. From the rollicking duels in Three Musketeers films to the lightsaber fights in the Star Wars saga, Hollywood often leans on techniques taken from this sport's disciplines.
Husisian said movies and TV get almost everything about fencing wrong, hyping up the action. But they're still fun, even for people in the sport.
"When you go to fencing camps, if you haven’t seen [those movies] they’re kind of drilled into you," she laughed.
The women met NPR at a gym on the outskirts of Paris, where they’ve been practicing, to demonstrate what their branch of the sport, fought with the epee, is actually like.
They described their bouts as surprisingly intellectual. Athletic prowess matters, but patience, strategy and cleverness often win out.
"When experience kicks in, it’s easier for you to predict certain opponents' actions," Cebula said.
"I think that’s one of the great things about fencing that it’s not pure athleticism," agreed Husisian, as she turned her epee, a long needle of steel, in a gloved hand.
"It’s making the best of whatever your best qualities are."
While they talked, two fencers dueled nearby with sabers, slashing at each other, their faces covered by protective masks.
The success of the American team in Paris wasn't universal. The men's foil team didn't medal. The U.S. also struggled in epee and saber competitions.
But American athletes hope the action, drama and huge audiences for these Olympic bouts — combined with the women's foil team's gold medal — will draw more attention back home.
The goal is bigger crowds and more young athletes trying the sport.
Husisian said she thinks some of that growth is already happening. "This new generation, there's such a vast wealth of talent, so I think the future is very much bright," she said.
Scruggs, who is Black, and who also won an individual silver Olympic medal in foil competition, said one of her hopes is to expand diversity in fencing. "Growing up I obviously didn’t see anyone like me, so it was kind of like me against the world in fencing," Scruggs said. "I want to show that anyone can fence."
Transcript
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
A big moment for Team USA in Olympic fencing - for the first time ever, American women won both individual and a team gold in the foil competition. The sword fighting played out in one of the most glorious venues in France. Here's NPR's Brian Mann.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: One of the things that's made this Olympic fencing tournament so amazing to watch and so amazing for these athletes is the Grand Palais itself, a vast glass dome structure built for the 1900 Paris Exhibition. It is stunning.
ANNE CEBULA: It's the coliseum. You feel like you're in a coliseum. It's just - it's crazy.
MANN: That's Anne Cebula, who fights with a sword called an epee, a long needle of steel. One of her U.S. teammates is Hadley Husisian.
HADLEY HUSISIAN: Walking out in, like, this beautiful venue, and the stands were filled up to the ceiling - like, that was incredible. It was kind of overwhelming. I had to, like, battle back my smile.
MANN: They say a typical crowd for fencing is a lot smaller.
CEBULA: Like, at World Championships, there were maybe, like, 10 people in the States.
MANN: One irony for these athletes is sword fighting is actually big in American culture. You see it all the time in movies and TV shows.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE THREE MUSKETEERS")
MATTHEW MACFADYEN: (As Athos) Let's even the odds.
MANN: That's an old "Three Musketeers" movie set here in Paris. And the big favorite in the fencing world is "The Princess Bride."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE PRINCESS BRIDE")
MANDY PATINKIN: (As Inigo Montoya) 'Cause I know something you don't know.
(SOUNDBITE OF SWORDS CLASHING)
CARY ELWES: (As Westley) And what is that?
PATINKIN: (As Inigo Montoya) I am not left-handed.
(SOUNDBITE OF SWORDS CLASHING)
MANN: Hadley says those movies get almost everything about fencing wrong, but they're still fun, and they help recruit a lot of athletes.
HUSISIAN: When you go to fencing camps, they'll also - like, if you haven't seen them, they're kind of drilled into you 'cause that's - like, at lunchtime, they're going to put on a movie like that.
(SOUNDBITE OF SWORDS CLASHING)
MANN: Hadley and Anne agreed to meet me at a gym on the outskirts of Paris where they've been practicing to show me what their sport is really like.
(SOUNDBITE OF SWORDS CLASHING)
MANN: While we talk, two fencers duel nearby - slashing at each other - their faces covered by protective masks. There are three different kinds of swords in this sport - the epee, the foil and the sabre - all wielded differently with slightly different rules. What these disciplines have in common, the women say, is that they're intellectual. Athletic prowess matters, but strategy and cleverness often win out.
CEBULA: When experience kicks in, like, it's easier for you to predict certain opponents' actions.
HUSISIAN: I think that's one of the great things about fencing - that it's not just pure athleticism. It's making the best of whatever your best qualities are.
MANN: American fencers are finding those qualities - finding ways to win. The women's foil team captured gold by beating Italy, considered the world's best fencing team. That's something that's never happened before.
LAUREN SCRUGGS: That last bout was super tough.
MANN: That's Lauren Scruggs, who fought the final duel in team competition against Arianna Errigo.
SCRUGGS: Obviously, I'm going against, like, an Italian legend, and so she really, you know, brought it to me. And I really struggled at the beginning of the bout, and I only really felt confident when I got that 44th touch. Before that, I was, like, super scared.
MANN: Lee Kiefer, who also won individual gold in Paris, says American fencing has been improving fast.
LEE KIEFER: We've put in the work, and it's showed. And then it's just putting it together on the biggest stage, and here we are.
MANN: One hope is the action and drama of these bouts at the Olympics, while not exactly like the fights in movies, will draw bigger crowds in the U.S. The women also want to see more young people trying the sport. Lauren Scruggs, who's Black, says one goal is diversity.
SCRUGGS: Growing up, obviously, I didn't really see anyone who looked like me. So it's like - kind of like me against the world in fencing. I want to show that anyone can fence.
MANN: It'll be hard to top this experience - dueling in a city famous for its sword fights in a venue as fabulous as the Grand Palais. But after big success here, American fencers are setting their sights on the next Summer Games back home in Los Angeles.
Brian Mann, NPR News, Paris.
(SOUNDBITE OF OFFTHEWALLY'S "PALM BREEZE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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