Lauren Scruggs (fencer)

{{Infobox fencer

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2003|1|27}}

| birth_place = Queens, New York, U.S.

| country = {{USA}}

| weapon = Foil

| club = Peter Westbrook Foundation, Fencers Club

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{USA}} }}

File:Olympic rings.svg

|hand=Left-handed|fieranking=[https://fie.org/athletes/42855 4 (women's foil, August 2024)]|headcoach=Sean McClain}}

Lauren Scruggs (born January 27, 2003) is an American left-handed foil fencer.{{Cite web |title=INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION - The International Fencing Federation official website |url=http://fie.org/athletes/42855 |access-date=2024-08-04 |website=FIE.org}} Scruggs won a silver medal in women's individual foil at the 2024 Summer Olympics, making her the first Black American woman to win an individual fencing medal.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2024/07/28/lee-kiefer-lauren-scruggs-fencing-paris-olympics/#:~:text=Fellow%20American%20Lee%20Kiefer%20won,the%20delight%20of%20her%20mentor.] She also won a gold medal in women's team foil at the same Olympics, along with Lee Kiefer, Jackie Dubrovich, and Maia Weintraub. Scruggs competes for the Harvard Crimson team in collegiate fencing. She has won an NCAA championship and is one of three black fencers from the United States to have won an individual world championship.{{Cite web |last=Coronell Uribe |first=Raquel |date=2024-07-26 |title=Harvard's fencing program charging onto the Olympics scene with 8 athletes set to compete in Paris |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/olympics/harvards-fencing-program-charging-olympics-scene-8-athletes-set-compet-rcna162240 |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=NBC News |language=en}}

Early life and education

Scruggs grew up in Queens, New York.{{Cite web |title=Lauren Scruggs |url=http://www.usafencing.org/page/show/4079160-lauren-scruggs |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=USA Fencing |language=en-us}} She was inspired to start fencing as a 6-year-old, after her older brother joined a fencing club in Brooklyn.{{Cite web |last=Zeigler |first=Cyd |date=2024-06-07 |title=Lauren Scruggs says her Olympics sport is like 'Princess Bride' |url=https://www.outsports.com/2024/6/7/24094950/lauren-scruggs-olympics-fencing-foil-team-usa-gay-princess-bride/ |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=OutSports |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Grove |first=Rashad |date=2024-07-26 |title=Diverse Voices in Fencing: Miles Chamley-Watson and Lauren Scruggs Discuss Their Olympic Journey |url=https://www.bet.com/article/sg8j95/diverse-voices-in-fencing-miles-chamley-watson-and-lauren-scruggs-discuss-their-olympic-journey |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=BET |language=en}} She attended Packer Collegiate Institute, graduating in 2021.{{Cite web |title=Lauren Scruggs |url=https://gocrimson.com/sports/womens-fencing/roster/lauren-scruggs/27762 |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=Harvard Crimson |language=en}} Her older brother Nolen fenced at Columbia University.{{Cite web |title=Lauren Scruggs - 2023-24 - Women's Fencing |url=https://gocrimson.com/sports/womens-fencing/roster/lauren-scruggs/27762 |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=Harvard University |language=en}}

She is a student at Harvard University and is majoring in philosophy.{{Cite web |last1=Forst |first1=Katharine |last2=Harris |first2=Thomas |date=2024-03-20 |title=Harvard's Lauren Scruggs To Represent Team USA at 2024 Paris Olympics {{!}} Sports |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/3/20/harvard-fencers-qualify-paris-olympics/ |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=The Harvard Crimson}}{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=Naeisha |date=2024-05-30 |title=From Ozone Park to the Paris Olympics |url=https://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/from-ozone-park-to-the-paris-olympics/article_0719c23e-e1bb-5bc5-822b-4a6765ddbd76.html |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=Queens Chronicle |language=en}}

Career

Scruggs is a two-time champion in the Junior World Fencing Championships, winning individual gold medals in 2019 and 2022 as well as other individual and team awards in 2018, 2021, and 2023.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-05 |title=Lauren Scruggs Crowned Junior World Champion for Second Time in Her Career |url=https://gocrimson.com/news/2022/4/5/womens-fencing-lauren-scruggs-crowned-junior-world-champion-for-second-time-in-her-career |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=Harvard University |language=en}} In 2023, she earned an individual gold medal at the NCAA Fencing Championships in Durham, North Carolina, and contributed to a fifth-place team finish for Harvard.{{Cite web |last=Behrens |first=Caroline |date=2023-03-31 |title=Harvard's Jonas Hansen and Lauren Scruggs Take Home the Gold at Fencing NCAA Championships |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/3/31/fencing-ncaa-championships-23/ |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=The Harvard Crimson}} In June 2023, she took bronze at the Pan American Fencing Championships in Lima.{{Cite web |last=Aponte |first=Claudia Irizarry |date=2024-07-10 |title=En Garde: Two New York Olympic Fencers Are on The Path to Paris |url=http://www.thecity.nyc/2024/07/10/fencing-cebula-scruggs-olympics-paris/ |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=THE CITY |language=en-US}}

= 2024 Summer Olympics =

On March 17, 2024, Scruggs qualified for the Paris Olympic Games by earning bronze at the Absolute Fencing Gear FIE Grand Prix in Washington, D.C.

At the Games, she won the silver medal in the women's foil event, defeating Italian fencer Arianna Errigo and Canadian fencer Eleanor Harvey, among others, before losing 15–6 in the final to fellow American Lee Kiefer.{{Cite web |last=Zeigler |first=Cyd |date=2024-07-28 |title=In first all-USA final, Lauren Scruggs wins improbable silver medal |url=https://www.outsports.com/2024/7/28/24098519/lauren-scruggs-paris-olympics-fencing-medal-nbc-harvard/ |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=OutSports |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Wong |first=Samantha |date=2024-07-28 |title=Olympic fencing recap, July 28: Major upsets in women's foil, men's epee early rounds |url=https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/olympic-fencing-recap-july-28-major-upsets-womens-foil-mens-epee-early-rounds |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=NBC Olympics |language=en}} This made Scruggs the first Black American woman to win an individual fencing medal at the Olympics.[https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2024/07/28/lee-kiefer-lauren-scruggs-fencing-paris-olympics/#:~:text=Fellow%20American%20Lee%20Kiefer%20won,the%20delight%20of%20her%20mentor.] She also won a gold medal in the team competition.

Personal life

Scruggs is openly lesbian and currently dating a Harvard classmate. She is involved with the Peter Westbrook Foundation, which offers fencing lessons to children and teens who are members of underrepresented groups. By qualifying for the Paris Olympics, she became the 17th Olympian produced by this foundation.

Medal record

=Olympic Games=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!Year

! style="width:17em" |Location

! style="width:12em" |Event

!Position

2024

| rowspan="1" align="left" |{{flagicon|FRA}} Paris, France

|Individual Women's Foil

| bgcolor="silver"|2nd{{Cite web|title=28 Jul 2024 olympic Games|url=https://fie.org/competitions/2024/243?tab=results|access-date=July 28, 2024|website=The International Fencing Federation official website}}

2024

| rowspan="1" align="left" |{{flagicon|FRA}} Paris, France

|Team Women's Foil

| bgcolor="gold"|1st{{Cite web|title=01 Aug 2024 olympic Games|url=https://fie.org/competitions/2024/249?tab=results|access-date=August 1, 2024|website=The International Fencing Federation official website}}

= World Cup =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!Date

! style="width:17em" |Location

! style="width:12em" |Event

!Position

2024-12-07

| rowspan="1" align="left" |{{flagicon|KOR}} Busan, korea

|Team Women's Foil

| bgcolor="silver" |2nd{{Cite web |title=07 Dec 2024 world cup |url=https://fie.org/competitions/2025/492?tab=results |access-date=December 7, 2024 |website=International Fencing Federation}}

2025-01-12

| rowspan="1" align="left" |{{flagicon|HKG}} Hong Kong, China

|Team Women's Foil

| bgcolor="silver" |2nd{{Cite web |title=12 Jan 2025 world cup |url=https://fie.org/competitions/2025/755?tab=results |access-date=January 12, 2025 |website=International Fencing Federation}}

=Pan American Championship=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!Year

! style="width:17em" |Location

! style="width:12em" |Event

!Position

2023

| rowspan="1" align="left" |{{flagicon|PER}} Lima, Peru

|Individual Women's Foil

| bgcolor="caramel" |3rd{{Cite web|title=17 Jun 2023 Pan American Championships |url=https://fie.org/competitions/2023/800?tab=results|access-date=June 17, 2023|website=International Fencing Federation }}

2023

| rowspan="1" align="left" |{{flagicon|PER}} Lima, Peru

|Team Women's Foil

| bgcolor="silver" |2nd{{Cite web|title=20 Jun 2023 Pan American Championships |url=https://fie.org/competitions/2023/805?tab=results|access-date=June 20, 2023|website=International Fencing Federation }}

2024

| rowspan="1" align="left" |{{flagicon|PER}} Lima, Peru

|Team Women's Foil

| bgcolor="gold" |1st{{cite web|url=https://fie.org/competitions/2024/805?tab=results|title=30 Jun 2024 zone Championships|website=INTERNATIONAL FENCING FEDERATION|access-date=30 June 2024}}

External links

[https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/lauren-scruggs Lauren Scruggs] on Team USA
[https://www.usafencing.org/lauren-scruggs Lauren Scruggs] on USA Fencing
[https://gocrimson.com/sports/womens-fencing/roster/lauren-scruggs/27762 Lauren Scruggs] on Harvard University
{{instagram|saucyscruggs}}