Lauren Scruggs (born January 27, 2003) is an American left-handed foilfencer.[1] 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.[2] 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 two black fencers from the United States to have won an individual world championship.[3]
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.[14][15] This made Scruggs the first Black American woman to win an individual fencing medal at the Olympics.[16] She also won a gold medal in the team competition.
Personal life
Scruggs is openly lesbian and currently dating a Harvard classmate.[5] She is involved with the Peter Westbrook Foundation, which offers fencing lessons to children and teens who are members of underrepresented groups.[13] By qualifying for the Paris Olympics, she became the 17th Olympian produced by this foundation.