Lexington fencer Lee Kiefer has been eliminated from contention at the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. The 22-year-old Dunbar High School graduate lost to China’s Longshi Liu in an upset.
The third-ranked foil fencer in the world going into the summer games, Kiefer gave an optimistic assessment of her chances speaking with On Point Fencing. In a video posted by the fencing media source in early July, the young athlete described her preparation this way: "work out a lot more, have more regimented routines, and do more video analysis."
But the regimen wasn’t enough to overcome a surprise early challenge by Liu, the 30th ranked fencer in the sport.
2016 marked Kiefer’s second trip to the Olympics. At the London 2012 games, she placed 5th.