PARIS – On the grandest stage in the sport, Harvard fencing rising senior Lauren Scruggs shined, as the Queens, New York native won a silver medal in her Olympic debut. Scruggs is just the second fencer in USA Fencing history to win a medal in the individual women's foil event at the Olympics and is the first black female U.S. fencer to win a medal in an individual fencing event at the Olympics.

Entering the competition ranked 11^th in the International Fencing Federation's world rankings, Scruggs began her journey to a silver medal with a 15-13 victory against Singapore's Amita Berthier in the round of 32. The following round saw Scruggs face off against Crimson teammate Jessica Zi Jia Guo, a rematch of the 2024 NCAA Women's Foil final that saw Guo win the NCAA national title. In Paris, Scruggs advanced with a 15-11 win against Guo, heading to a quarterfinal meeting with Italy's Arianna Errigo.

In a thrilling contest against the No. 2 ranked Errigo, Scruggs earned a spot in the semifinals with a 15-14 victory. With the score tied at 14 touches each in the end of the first period, Scruggs secured the winning touch to advance to the semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Canada's Eleanor Harvey awaited Scruggs in the semifinals, as Scruggs defeated the No. 14 ranked fencer to secure a spot in the gold medal round, 15-9. In the gold medal bout, Scruggs faced off against Team USA teammate and the No. 1 ranked fencer Lee Kiefer. Despite a stellar effort, Scruggs took home silver after Kiefer won the gold medal bout, 15-6. Scruggs joins Emily Cross '09 as the only female fencers in program history to win a medal at the Olympics, as Cross won a women's foil team event silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

A two-time Olympian for Team Canada, Guo earned a win against Chile's Arantza Inostroza in the round of 16, 15-7, before falling short against Scruggs in the following bout. Fellow Canadian and incoming first-year Nicholas Zhang also made his Olympic debut in the men's epee individual event, as he suffered a 15-11 defeat against Venezuela's Gabriel Lugo in the round of 64.

UP NEXT:

Competition continues tomorrow, as Elizabeth Tartakovsky '23 will represent the United States in the women's saber individual event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Guo and Scruggs will have an opportunity to earn more hardware in the women's foil team event on Thursday, Aug. 1. Peacock will broadcast all the action live from Paris.

RESULTS:
Jessica Zi Jia Guo (Canada) – Women's Foil Individual
Guo def. Inostroza (Chile), 15-7: Round of 32
Scruggs (USA) def. Guo, 15-11: Round of 16

Lauren Scruggs (USA) – Women's Foil Individual
Scruggs def. Berthier (SGP), 15-13: Round of 32
Scruggs def. Guo (Canada), 15-11: Round of 16
Scruggs def. Errigo (Italy), 15-14: Quarterfinals
Scruggs def. Harvey (Canada), 15-9: Semifinals
Kiefer (USA) def. Scruggs, 15-6: Gold Medal Round

Nicholas Zhang (Canada) – Men's Epee Individual
Lugo (Venezuela) def. Zhang, 15-11: Round of 64

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