Welcome to a special First to 15 miniseries: The Golden Touch. The Golden Touch is a First to 15 miniseries exploring the thrilling journey of Team USA as they secured their first-ever gold medal in women’s team foil at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Join us as we speak to the athletes, their coaches, and key support staff who made history in one of the most unforgettable Olympic moments for USA Fencing. In this episode, we’re celebrating the unsung heroes who made it all possible: the cadre, or as we like to call them, the “team behind the team.”
Welcome to a special First to 15 miniseries: The Golden Touch.
The Golden Touch is a First to 15 miniseries exploring the thrilling journey of Team USA as they secured their first-ever gold medal in women’s team foil at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Join us as we speak to the athletes, their coaches, and key support staff who made history in one of the most unforgettable Olympic moments for USA Fencing.
In this episode, we’re celebrating the unsung heroes who made it all possible: the cadre, or as we like to call them, the “team behind the team.”
Joining us are four key members of this incredible group:
The guests also gave special shoutouts to the three other cadre members: Kaitlyn Litten, Adam Thompson and Bryan Wendell.
EPISODE GT06
[INTRODUCTION]
[0:00:02] BW: Hello, and welcome to First to 15, the official podcast of USA Fencing. I'm your host Bryan Wendell. In this show, you're going to hear from some of the most inspiring, interesting, and insanely talented people in this sport we all love. First to 15 is for anyone in the fencing community, and even for those just checking out fencing to see what it's all about. Whether you're an Olympian, or Paralympian, a newcomer, a seasoned veteran, a fencing parent, a fan, or anyone else in this wonderful community, this podcast is for you. With that, let's get to today's episode. Enjoy.
[INTERVIEW]
[0:00:39] BW: Welcome to First to 15, in our special mini-series, The Golden Touch, where we're breaking down team USA's journey to their first ever gold medal in women's team foil at the Paris Olympics. In this episode, we're celebrating some of the behind-the-scenes unsung heroes who made it all possible. The cadre, or as I like to call them, the team behind the team. So, we've got four members of this incredible group. We've got Dagmara Wozniak, who's a three-time Olympian, and the current US women's saber national team coach.
Daga was the team captain in Paris. We've got Kate Reisinger, the USA Fencing's chief of sport performance, and the team leader in Paris. We've got Liz Morey who was the team armorer, ensuring that all the – they have these gear was competition-ready, and we have Dr. Peggy Chin, USA Fencing's director of sports medicine, and the primary sports med provider for the team in Paris.
We've got the intros out of the way. Hey, everybody. Welcome to the podcast. We're going to talk all about our experiences there. But first, let's dive a little bit more into your roles. Daga, as the team captain, what were your responsibilities in Paris, kind of balancing the leadership role with the fact that you were closer in age to the athletes than frankly, the rest of us on the cadre, so you were able to support them emotionally and strategically as well?
[0:01:57] DW: I think the role for team captain, I don't know if there's an exact definition, but definitely to almost be like a mediator or like liaison between like athletes and coaches or even the rest of the staff. For me, being, you know, three times at the Olympics, I knew what I wanted as an athlete, so I felt like I could also speak for the athletes a lot of the times to kind of say like, “Hey, I don't think we should bother this person,” or “I think that this athlete needs X, Y, and Z.” Also being that a lot of them are athletes that I've either competed with on teams or have seen them coming up through the ranks.
I've gotten to know everybody and I feel like I also had a lot of the athlete’s trust. So, mainly I was there to just kind of, you know, make sure that the athletes had everything that they needed. Make sure that they were headed in the right direction if their bat was coming up. If they needed food, water, whatever, just kind of to be there to support and make sure that everybody's where they need to be and also be like a right-hand person for Kate.
[0:02:56] BW: Yeah. Because not everybody's a five-time Olympian, like Gerek. A lot of them, which is exciting to say were there for the first time. The goal, I imagine, was trying to let them just focus on fencing and not all the other stuff, and you did a great job of that.
Kate, that was also a big part of your job, not just during the games, but also leading up to it. The team leader, what is that role and how were you able to make sure that the operation getting to Paris and competing there was so smooth?
[0:03:22] KR: Before the games, we worked really closely with the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee to prep every detail, which includes getting ready to use the High-Performance Center, which is kind of like Team USA's home base at the games where we trained, which I think was a really great asset to fencing. We had our own space and to just be in a little bit more of a chill environment that they have meals and sports med, and some other teams are there, like we got to meet Snoop Dogg there, which was fun.
Yeah. So, before the games, we tried to get everything ready so that when the athletes arrive in Paris, they can enter a stress-free environment without many distractions. Then on the ground, it's up to all of us on the staff to really just be problem-solvers, and we had an amazing crew, not on the podcast day, were Adam, Kaitlyn, Hugh, Brian, and Nick, our security guy. So, we had a great crew in Paris, it was super fun. I think that the athletes were able to compete without too many distractions.
[0:04:18] BW: Yeah. Four medals, and lots of great results. Liz, team armorer, that job is obviously critical and really unique to fencing, which is I think it's probably the coolest title in all of sports of anybody behind the scenes is the team armorer. But can you explain, obviously, a lot of fencers listen to this, but for those who maybe are less familiar with the sport, what are the day-to-day responsibilities of a team armorer on the ground at an event like the Olympics?
[0:04:44] LM: I'm just making sure that all of their equipment is ready to fence with and is dialed in to the way they want it. Somebody wants a particular jacket approved. My job is to get that jacket stamped. You want to wear this particular mask. I'm going to make sure that that gets passed by control and that you're able to fence with what you want to fence with, and that everything you need is there and ready for you. Also, making sure that everything gets tested so that there's not going to be any problems with anything once they get on the strip.
[0:05:16] BW: Yeah. Obviously, it worked well, and just like Liz, you were responsible for 20 athletes plus the training partners in their gear, that moves us well into Peggy, you were responsible for the other equipment, right? The athletes' bodies, right? So, making sure that they were healthy and ready to go and mentally prepare it as well. What do you see your role as in Paris specifically?
[0:05:43] CC: I think you touched on the point pretty right on it. It's prioritizing the physical and emotional health of the athletes while they're in Paris. I think there's a lot of stress that's associated with participating in the Olympics. There's just a lot of going on and just making sure that they have all the resources that they need, whether it's physical, so we had another medical provider with us, thankfully, Thompson, who's an athletic trainer, had been with our organization for many years, as well as the USOPC sports med team, who support us very much in the last several years during all of our competition.
It's just getting everybody together and making sure that the athletes are taken care of and feel physically safe and emotionally ready to participate in the event. We had training at the High-Performance Center during the active competition. I was managing the athletes who were competing at the Grand Palais while Adam was at the Human Performance Center, managing any of the athletes or training partners who were still training in preparation for their competitions.
[0:06:47] BW: Yeah. It was definitely a scheduling puzzle, having two people who needed to be in multiple places at once, but you nailed it. Before we get to August 1, 2024, right? The Gold Medal Day. Let's talk a little bit more about the lead-up to Paris, and we're going to come back to Daga. You've gotten to know many of the Sabre athletes, both through your role at Harvard and then your own fencing career as a women's Sabre Olympian. But I'm curious, how did you go about building relationships with some of the athletes and other weapons, maybe people you didn't know as well, and just getting them to trust you so they can and did come to you with their concerns during and before the games?
[0:07:22] DW: When I was chosen to kind of, I think predominantly, like the idea was to go to Cairo to be with women's Sabre, because it wasn't necessarily someone who was helping to lead the team. It was just like a big sister type role to come in. All of them were pretty much at their first, like World Championship. It was just to help them through the process. Unfortunately, Kate and Daria, who Daria was our team leader for the whole team in Cairo, both unfortunately got sick with COVID, so I stepped into the role of not just helping out with women's Sabre, but then helping out with the rest of the team.
I know that there are already some discussions about like maybe that this is something to build up towards Paris. I did make it a point to come up to the athletes that I didn't know that were younger than me and break the ice and have a conversation once that maybe I've talked to and passing just to get that relationship open and active was like a big thing for me. Then I was also chosen as a team captain for Milan. Same thing, just went through whoever was like a new face. I made sure they went up to – I went up to them and introduced myself and made sure that they understood that I was a resource. If they didn't know Peggy, make sure to you know, just like bridge that relationship and get everybody like front and center, like this is my voice, this is who I am. Yeah, kind of go from there.
[0:08:44] BW: Then there's the team selection and Kate, I want to talk about that next, because that's a big part of the lead up to Paris. One of your roles is overseeing that. How is an Olympic team selected? I know that USOPC has to approve the procedures. So, it's a lot more than just in some sports, whoever finishes this race, the first two people to finish this race are going to the Olympics. There's a whole process involved.
[0:09:06] KR: Yeah. The selection process for the games is similar to world championships in that when we qualify a full team for the game, we're allowed to take four athletes. Three for the individual event and one replacement athlete. I guess it was about two years ago, we worked with the athlete council and of course the national coaches to decide how we would select and what events would count for selection. It's a really stressful time for the athletes. So, we tried to get that written in front of everybody as soon as possible. So, they know exactly what they need to do to qualify, but essentially with the five teams that we qualified for Paris, about the end of April, we knew who the three individual preliminary placement athletes would be, and then they were off and running.
[0:09:48] BW: Liz, I want to talk about your preparation for Paris. Specifically, the gear that you bring, because you've got like this really cool kit of all of the various tools that you would need. First of all, like what all is in there? Secondly, how do you get it past the TSA to get it into Paris?
[0:10:04] LM: Actually, it's quite easy to get it past TSA, because my luggage has to be checked, because you can't bring the type of tools that I carry onto the actual plane. But a lot of the stuff I carry is in case something breaks or something has to be fixed, no matter what it is, I have to be able to fix it. So, it’s a lot of sewing stuff. I do a lot of sewing. I do a lot of working on blades, keeping blades up and running. I know pretty much most of the athletes what their preference is. What tips they like to have on their foils? What tips they like to have on their FAs? What wires they like to use? What their blade preference is? Make sure I have extra guards. Make sure I have extra padding for the guards, just making sure if something breaks, I've got something there that I can fix it with.
[0:11:03] BW: Do you have like a spreadsheet or a list that you use? Because like when I'm packing, I forget like socks sometimes. I'm like not thinking about every type of wire that I might need.
[0:11:12] LM: No, no. I just have a package that I keep for traveling to World Championships, which is different from the stuff that I carry when I go to NACS. Of course, the equipment I use for the Olympics is different than the equipment I would take when I'm up, the head check [Inaudible 0:11:31]. It's a different thing. I have lots of suitcases.
[0:11:37] BW: Peggy, let's talk about the lead up for you from your perspective, because getting 20 athletes to Paris, relatively injury free, is no small feat, and it's a credit to you and your team that you've assembled. I know you can't share any details about individual athletes, but like big picture. What kind of guidance and preparation were you doing to make sure everybody was at peak performance or as close as possible before the games began?
[0:12:02] PC: It was kind of a three-year process from Tokyo to Paris. When Kate brought me on shortly after Tokyo, one of the things that we thought was really important for my role was to build relationships with the athletes, making sure that they felt comfortable with me as well as our greater sports med team to be able to share any issues that they may be dealing with, whether it's physical related or emotional related.
Developing those relationships took a really long time, making sure that we selected the appropriate sports medicine providers that fit well with each team. All of our providers were just clinically solid individuals, and we were lucky to have them. We had this really great relationship as well as Mount Sinai, who are our physician partners. We had a really good team, but I think one of the things that people don't realize with medicine, it's just building relationships and gaining the trust of the athletes leading into it was really important.
I was lucky where quite a few of the athletes were returning Olympians as well, so they kind of had like an idea of how to prepare for Paris. We had several younger ones who, they're younger. They think they're invincible, so they're going into it as they're prepared, but it's the constant reminder of if you need something, ask, even if you're not sure, ask. We're here to support you. We're here to just prepare you to be at peak performance. So, making sure that they had all the right resources, whether it was medical, strength conditioning, nutrition, psychological services, whatever they needed they had their disposal too.
[0:13:34] BW: Yeah. Even getting texts from people like, is this okay to consume this particular product knowing that they want to make sure that they're able to pass the doping control in Paris? So, like you had a lot, you had to juggle, right?
[0:13:46] PC: Yeah, absolutely. I think we all did. We all had very intricate things that we had in our role. Getting random text messages about things that people don't realize that might not be important, maybe in college or perhaps professional level, but competing in the Olympics, there are things that are very different and very unique to the Olympics that we had to deal with or manage.
[0:14:07] BW: Yeah, absolutely. One of the unique things about the Olympics is something that was that Kate touched on earlier, which is the high-performance center. Daga, from your perspective as an athlete and as the team captain here, how does having a place like the high-performance center where they can train and gather, help the athletes stay focused and prepared? Now, we're in Paris getting closer and closer to the big day for women's foil August 1st, but they have this place where they can get together and train, kind of maybe free from the other pressures at the Olympics.
[0:14:38] DW: I think you really hit the nail on the head. It's the being away from the pressures of the Olympics. So, having this hub where you feel like very professional environment, you know. It's also not getting bombarded by who knows, maybe having fans or things like that or even having press inside the Olympic village to be able to stop you and ask questions. Completely taking yourself out of that element of like those distractions, I think is really helpful. I've always enjoyed my time at the Olympic training center and any Olympics that I've been to. It’s just kind of like becomes a home away from home and really gets you in a mindset to be able like, I'm here, I'm having fun, but I'm here to work. I have my team around me and my teammates and my coaches and can kind of do the best that I can in order to prepare.
[0:15:28] BW: As Ralph and Brian said in a previous episode. It also was a good place to
talk strategy too, right? Because there are training strips in the village, but this is unique just to team USA, right? So, like team Italy is not going to be walking through that door saying, “What are they practicing? What are they watching there on video?” Is that part of it too? Is that privacy?
[0:15:48] DW: I definitely think it's a big part of the privacy. When you're at the Olympics, you definitely feel like you’re a part of a bigger team and a bigger environment, but it's again, everyone is there to be professional and to kind of find the space, like you said, the private space to be able to focus and really kind of set your eyes on the goal, which obviously women's foil has been able to do.
[0:16:10] BW: Kate, anything to add there about the HPC and its value?
[0:16:13] KR: One thing that's really cool about the high-performance center is a good place for us to be together as a whole team USA with accreditation being so difficult, meaning we can't access everything all at the same time, so whether it's coaches or training partners, athletes, recovery staff, all of us can be in one place and that's at the high-performance center. It's a great place for us to train and also, like he said, strategize and just get the job done there. I did want to give a shout out to Gary Lewitt, absolute funding who provided all the strips, and the reels, and the scoring machines, and everything that we had what we needed to train.
[0:16:44] BW: On the topic of the HPC you brought up Kaitlyn before. Peggy, I'm going to ask you about Adam in a little bit, but Kate, can you talk about Kaitlyn Litten and her role and the hats that she wore? I know her credential said chauffeur, but she was way more than that in Paris.
[0:16:59] KR: Yeah, for sure, Kaitlyn was the assistant team leader in Paris and really was a huge part of the team. Kaitlyn, while she didn't have access to the venue. She did have access to the Olympic lanes as a chauffeur. So, specifically, she helped to drive some people to and from the venue. More importantly, she was just like our major problem solver in Paris. She was based at the high-performance center while I was based at the venue, sort of like Adam and Peggy were. I think for Kaitlyn, there's no problem to great and she'll solve it. Also, very calmly and with a great sense of humor. We're really lucky to have our full staff there in Paris.
[0:17:36] BW: Liz, what was the HPC experience like for you? I know you started there before the competition began, but then you had to kind of be in two places at once, both being available to people, training for upcoming competitions, but then also being at the venue in case there's any equipment emergencies that arise. How did you balance that scheduling puzzle?
[0:17:56] LM: That's where Kaitlyn came in. The high-performance center was really nice. I mean, the strips were there. We had the scoring machine set up. We grounded everything. Once we figured the power issue out, we were okay. It was a really nice training facility with everything we needed and it had adequate space for me to lay out all my stuff and have everything I needed where I could get things fixed and work on stuff and actually get some stuff done.
[0:18:26] BW: Daga anything to add there?
[0:18:29] DW: Yeah. I just wanted to add. I mean, I know Liz was explaining about being at the high-performance center, but what I thought was also just like really amazing is everyone kind of had their, like identified role, I guess we could say, but we did a really good job of just supporting each other, like Kait was predominantly like at the venue. I was in the Olympic Village with Peggy. Liz was, I believe, at the high-performance center for a little bit. We kind of like divided and conquered.
I think like being able to like sometimes someone needed equipment and I brought it back to the village for them or bringing it to the venue, so they didn't have to go. Kate was running different things than maybe athletes needed that were in the village. Peggy was helping out with like snacks. We were all really like helping each other out, which I thought was an amazing thing as like a cadre and the staff.
[0:19:16] BW: It was a team effort for sure. Peggy, the other member of your team there on the sports med side was Adam Thompson. So, can you talk about how you scheduled the time there? Because when there was someone fencing in the Grand Palais and you needed to be there for that, there were athletes training for competition maybe the very next day. So, you had to create that schedule, that accommodated all the athletes.
[0:19:37] PC: Yeah. As Kate had mentioned early on, accreditation is really challenging at the games and we only had one accreditation for sports med at the actual competition venue. Adam was our primary provider at the high-performance center when I wasn't there. He would just take care of the athletes while we were at the competition center at competition hall, but his role was more than that too, just a lot like Kaitlyn, you know, he was on the ground helping out in other areas that weren't necessary medical related. It was really important, because there's so many things going on at one time.
Sometimes, everyone was busy at one time and you just had to find somebody to be able to take care of something. It could be as simple as I need a box of, I don't know, clothes pulled out from so and so, so that we can do this marketing or this commercial with so and so. Just kind of unique things. It was really important also for Adam to be there, because he was able to relay any issues directly with the USOPC who also had a sports med clinic satellite clinic at the high-performance center on top of the one that they had at the village.
[0:20:46] BW: Yeah. I kept everybody busy. We've kind of built it up now. Now, we're at August 1st, right? Which by now everybody knows was the day that the US women's foil team made history. Daga, where were you that day during the match, before the match? What were you focused on as those four incredible women fought their way to gold?
[0:21:06] DW: At the venue. I mean, we would have fled there if we could, but they're from like the beginning of the competition, making sure that everybody was doing their warmups or they needed everything for their warmups. Being there for them in between rounds and things like that. They decided not to go to the Airbnb, which you know was also a really awesome location that I believe the past three Olympics. Two, three Olympics, we've had like a place that's offsite, excluding the high-performance center where athletes can go and take time in between matches if they do make the metal round.
They decided to stay at the venue. So, the first thing was I have a really awesome picture that meeting McDonald's. That's what they wanted before their final match. Yeah, I mean, it was just to be there on the ground, make sure that they had everything they needed and just kind of like be on standby if they needed anything.
[0:22:00] BW: Kate, kind of the same question for you. What do you remember from that day? What were your roles and how stressed were you watching that, watching the team on that day?
[0:22:11] KR: Not stressed at all, no lie. I mean, it's always interesting every day sort of starts similarly where Liz and myself, who people are staying outside the village. It always seems like a game of, I don't know, Tetris or something to get in once everybody is in. Then we like to stage before the team arrives. I remember sitting in our team area and watching the team come in and they just looked loose and just ready to go.
Even then, I know we've talked about it. I've heard of them speak about another podcast the difference between them and some of the other teams and eating McDonald's. I just, I felt like looking at them like they're ready to go. For me, it was super exciting, because I had witnessed all the hard work they had put in ahead of time. They were so prepared until when it actually came to the day to go out and do it. They just did it. It was just what they had done at every World Cup and other World Championships and things like that.
It was just like so proud of them, so happy for them that all their hard work like actually worked out, because I mean, we all know how sport is, right? Like you can do everything you can in your power to prepare, but at the end of the day, like it's sport and there's going to be a winner or loser. So, just so happy for them and also all of their personal coaches, and their friends and family. It was so cool to see the friends and family in Paris, because they weren't there in Tokyo. So, just an amazing day and just so happy for them that their hard work paid off.
[0:23:35] BW: Kate, thinking about that gold medal moment on August 1st, it was more than just the people on this podcast and even more than Kaitlyn and Adam who we mentioned, right? The larger team USA support team goes beyond that.
[0:23:48] KR: Yeah, for sure. One person who's so humble and will probably hate me for saying this is Jennifer Yamin. She's the foil squad manager. So, she takes care of all the logistics for all of our foil squad. She's the one getting the calls at 3 AM in the morning and booking all the flights for the team, and just doing so much to make sure that they can arrive at competition stress free. We were so lucky, because in Paris, she was on the DT.
So, it was amazing having a US representative there and just knowing that we could message her or she could give us a heads up about certain things. Most importantly, that she was there in person to witness the gold medal and to really take a look at all her hard work and how it paid off as well. She's total unsung hero. It was just awesome to have Jennifer there as well. Then to also have her at the Airbnb to celebrate after.
[0:24:41] BW: Liz, what do you remember from that August 1st experience and watching history be made?
[0:24:48] LM: I was at the venue that day. I go over early and get to security early. I'm just checking everybody's equipment, making sure everything's okay. Making sure Liz one blade that she fenced this entire Olympic sport worked perfectly. I actually watch this from the stands, because I knew they were going to win this. I didn't have a doubt in the world. My sister actually called me and said, “Oh, it was a really tight match.” I was like, “No, it wasn't.” They had this from the get go. It was really great being able to watch. That's because it was really a great experience.
[0:25:35] BW: Daga, something to add there.
[0:25:37] DW: Yeah. When we went in between Kaitlyn and I to go get the food for the girls, I was walking by a bakery to get some like additional sandwiches. I saw these little cookie guys that had like a white chocolate, like first place metal around their neck and I was like, “Oh, I'm going to buy them for the girls.” When I handed it to them, they were like, “Wait, what would happened if we lost?” I was like, “I knew you were going to win.”
[0:26:02] BW: Yeah. Just quickly get some icing that you never had to worry about that. Kate?
[0:26:07] KR: I just remember when, and like Daga said, we had the Airbnb set up with very healthy meals, ready to go. They wanted to go there to relax. When we came back, we were like, “Okay, guys, what do you want to eat?” They were like, “Chicken nuggets.” So, I swear the three of us went to McDonald's, like it was the most important job in the entire world to get Lauren and Red Bull and to get like as many chicken nuggets as possible.
I remember even as a staff, we were all just pounding chicken nuggets up until the event started. I just think it like goes to show just how loose they were and ready to go. Even though generally they healthy meals, like McDonald's was what was going to hit the spot at that moment.
[0:26:47] BW: It did. Peggy, you brought me some in the media room. Thank you so much. You saved me that day as well, because it was frantic for me at that moment too, which is a great segue to Peggy for you. You had a really unique advantage point, right? You were probably physically the closest to the athletes of the cadre being right there in case you were needed. What was that like? How much stress were you feeling in that moment? What was going through your head?
[0:27:14] PC: I mean, I wasn't really stressed out. I've seen them in this position so many times. As you said, you know, in a very intimate and much more intimate settings at World Cups, where I'm right at the barrier where I can see it all happening. I went into it, like it was any other competition that we've had the last three years leading up to Paris. I saw the girls through the ups and the downs of the last three years. I think going into it, they looked prepared.
There's a story that I tell people early on when Ralph was hired on, I was there when he actually won their first team medal with him as their national team coach. I distinctly remember him talking to them about what it means to be a team and what it means to winning a team medal and that there's this level of trust that you have to have with each other. That also, you know, it was going to be a process, you know, and it was about chipping away, because I think they might have been third or fourth in the world at the time, not sure when that was, but his goal was just to get them to move up every year kind of leading up into Paris and just improving on that.
I think to be able to see it full circle was pretty amazing. I do remember, though, that I was like, I don't have enough flags to give them. One of the things that I was doing was waiting up that. I don't even remember who I was waiting at. The whole cadre staff who were up there. I was like, “I need more flags.” That was more on my mind after they won than anything else.
[0:28:41] BW: Yeah. We all had a WhatsApp group that we communicated through as well, right? The cadre did. That helped make sure everybody knew what was going on. Daga?
[0:28:49] DW: I know we were all there at the venue and we shared our experiences, but I would love to hear Brian, who you were also on the ground with us for the majority of the time at the venue and like working behind the scenes with like posting up all the amazing graphics and things like that. What do you remember about that day?
[0:29:05] BW: Oh, it was definitely like goosebumps moment, just feeling like, “Oh, this is actually going to happen.” Then thinking, “Oh, that means it's going to be a ton of work.” Which is obviously a good problem to have. So, right as we were, Kate, you might remember this, I'm right as we were nearing that 45th touch, right, Lauren? I had to like run out of there and get down to the area called the mix zone. So, after the medal is won, the last touch. There's celebrations on the strip. Then they walk all the athletes through this broadcast mix zone and then a press mix zone where they have to stop and do interviews.
I knew from a previous day that they were closing off that area at certain times and wouldn't allow me back there, which was super stressful. I had to rush down there and make sure that I was there to greet the women when they got off. If they wanted to do their interviews later. Then I could be the bad guy, so to speak, to say, “You know, well, she'll talk to you later.” But it was pretty cool getting to give them high fives and hugs when they came off the strip. I got to say, and then just one of those “pinch me” moments for sure. Thanks for asking.
Yeah. That was a career highlight. That's got to be number one. Right back to you, Daga. Now that this last round of questions is about what happened after the victory ceremony and beyond and the celebrations that night at the Airbnb. So, like how was that for you, Daga? What kind of shout outs did you get from friends and family who knew that you were part of that gold medal as well?
[0:30:31] DW: Definitely celebrations all around. I think it was just really great to see the athletes celebrating with like friends and family that traveled so far. I mean, I know it's Paris, but it takes a lot of like time commitment. Then there were also to Lauren's younger sisters and things like that, that also came. It was really great to see everybody at the Airbnb low key. I really thought we were going to get kicked out. The noise was relatively high for all for good reasons. I mean, we were blasting music. I think we are the champions in the van on the way to the Airbnb celebrating with everybody after doping control and all that.
The celebration was so real, so great. For like a split second, I remember when it was like a tough moment to lose for the gold medal myself when we were fencing. So, it's still an amazing experience to be part of like seeing it happen and being there for them. I mean, it was just like good feelings all around and I was so proud of them, so happy for them. I mean, they're just such talented, amazing women.
I do know Jackie didn't have the best international individual result, but to come back and altogether have that kind of finish for a career is like something that every athlete dreams of. The fact that she was able to end on such a high note, like I'm more than happy for her. Lee and everybody. I'm not saying Lee's done, but it was just an amazing moment to be part of and to share it with everybody at the Airbnb, just amazing.
Y [0:31:59] BW: Yeah. I mean, a team celebration is always going to be four times as intense anyway, right? But Kate, what do you remember about that night? Then also if you would, can you like share the big picture about what this means for US women's foil, because you've seen some downs and now you've seen the ultimate up.
[0:32:16] KR: The story I remember about the night that they won, of course, all they wanted to do was celebrate, but they had to do the press conference. Then they had to go through a dopey control. Then we, I guess the party got started at the Airbnb, all the friends and family and every between partners went over there. Then we took the van to pick up the athletes and coaches. I mean, there was nobody around the grand play at this point. It's super late. I remember we played in the van, you know the Olympic song that they play on NBC, whatever the song was. We blasted it as the athletes were walking out.
I remember thinking like that was my pinch me moment. There were people in a cafe next door and they were cheering for them. It was just like a – I don't know, to me that it was just such a cool moment. Leading into that, I think there's so many women's foilists and also coaches who were involved in this. You think of people like the Zimmerman's and Ann Marsh and Bucky Leach and kind of what they started years and years ago when the US winning a gold medal, it wasn't even like you would have thought we were crazy, you know?
Now, wow, like these women have set the standard. There's so many people who are included in that success, including everybody from back in the day. So, again, just like super happy that the athletes were able to make that historic moment for USA Fencing. Now, it's like yeah, we win gold medals at the Olympics. So, all these cadets, and juniors in the youth centers have that group to look up to. It's so cool.
[0:33:43] BW: Yeah. The sky is the limit now. Liz, that night for you. The celebration. Then as you've had time to reflect on the significance of a team gold medal for the United States.
[0:33:54] LM: It was a great night. It was wonderful to see all the support from all the friends, the families and everybody there to support what had happened. I was also wondering, I also have to get up in the morning and be at the Grand [Inaudible 0:34:10] – because there's another group of people that are going to be fencing tomorrow, but it was really great. It was wonderful. I was so happy for everybody. They did a really great job and I was just really, really impressed.
[0:34:26] BW: Peggy, I want to get your thoughts on this as well, especially because you have a unique perspective about the athletes, maybe struggles that they've had, perhaps some physical injuries or other things they might be going through. So, to see them win gold and in some cases overcome those challenges, what was that like for you?
[0:34:44] PC: Thankfully, this team coming into that day that they – into Paris, they're all pretty healthy. They were all individuals who really prioritized not only their physical, but emotional health as well. They had amazing support system, friends, family. I felt like they were just physically and emotionally very well prepared for it. My fear always is at any time when they're actively competing is injury occurring during competition.
I think the entire time I was sitting there, I was just thinking, “Okay, let's hope you don't get injured. Let's hope this doesn't happen.” Thankfully, everybody was fine. Again, the only thing I had to worry about was grabbing the flags at the end of all of it and making sure that they got through doping and that they didn't take too long to use the restroom when they did that. I always tell people, as a sports med provider, for any sport if all we're doing there is watching the sport and we're bored out of our minds, then we've had a really good day.
[0:35:43] BW: Yeah. You've helped them get there. Then Peggy, when you reflect on this now that we're several months from that day. What is the significance of this for you and what those athletes and the whole team was able to do?
[0:35:55] PC: I always say my experience with them is unique in that I build these very intimate relationships with me, because they have to share such intimate aspects of their life and it could be anything. There's no one for them to be able to do that and to trust me to know that I'm going to be able to help them is very meaningful. So, to see that they've been rewarded with them with winning the gold by just all of their hard work and sacrifice.
I think I see the sacrifice a lot more than other people might see it too. I think it's just so rewarding for them to get to that point. For, you know, first time Olympians, you know, getting a gold medal. You know Jackie who's retiring being able to end on a high note and me having worked so hard so many, so many Olympics kind of just always missing an opportunity to win a team medal and she was able to achieve it. I think there's a lot of like happiness around it. I think it makes them more hungry for another one, seeing that it's possible. I think it's just to be able to be part of this history is pretty exciting and pretty cool.
[0:37:02] BW: Yeah. I just want to say it was an honor to work with all of you all and congratulations on the medal. Peggy, you said they're hungry for another one. Yeah, LA 28 will be here before we know it, right? The countdown begins to that. Yeah, let's do another one of these podcasts in four years. How about that? So, thanks to you all and good luck and thanks for spending some time today.
[0:37:23] DW: Thank you so much.
[0:37:25] KR: Thanks, Brian. Go USA.
[0:37:26] PC: Thank you.
[END OF INTERVIEW]
[0:37:28] BW: Thanks for listening to First of 15, the official podcast of USA Fencing. We'll be back with our next conversation in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, you can stay up to date on all the latest fencing news by following us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. If you like this podcast, please help us grow and reach more people by leaving us a rating, or review. Until next time, I'm Bryan Wendell, and I hope to see you real soon out on the strip. Bye.
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