After Lauren Scruggs clinched the gold medal for the United States in the women’s fencing team foil competition on Thursday, she threw off her mask and spun around, her eyes and mouth wide open.
But it wasn’t the first big moment for Scruggs at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
On Sunday, Scruggs, in her Olympics debut, became the first Black American woman to win an individual Olympic fencing medal for the U.S.“Fencing has largely, historically, been a non-Black sport,” Scruggs told NCAA.com in a July interview.
“So I hope to inspire young Black girls to get into fencing and to think that they can have a place in the sport.
I just hope that more people who look like me, little girls like me, feel they have a place in the sport.”
Persons:
Lauren Scruggs, Scruggs, ” Scruggs, NCAA.com, “
Organizations:
Black, U.S
Locations:
United States, Paris