On Thursday, August 1st, Lauren Scruggs made Olympic history.
Scruggs, 21, had already secured her title as a trailblazer by simply competing in this year’s Olympic Games. She was the first publicly out Black lesbian to compete in fencing at the Olympic level. If that wasn’t legendary enough, Scruggs then went on to become both the first Black woman and openly LGBTQ person to medal in the sport! And she didn’t receive just any medal…
Scruggs and her teammates, Lee Kiefer, Jackie Dubrovich, and Maia Weintraub, secured a gold medal for Team USA in the Women’s Foil Team event. This is Scruggs’ second medal at the Paris Olympics, as she also earned a silver medal in the in Women’s Foil Individual event. The team’s victory marks the first time in history that the US has won an Olympic gold medal in the women’s foilfencing team event since it began competing in 1904.
Scruggs spoke with GLAAD’s Allison Bloom to talk about this monumental achievement.
She talked about how she first got into the sport, “I got into fencing through my brother Nolen. He was super into Star Wars and wanted to sword fight.” Little did they know what was to come!
Scruggs, who was a member of GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 class of 2023, spoke about what it means to her to to be the first publicly out Black lesbian to not only compete, but medal in fencing. She shares that it’s, “Crazy, but representation is important! Hopefully with this achievement more people find they have a place in fencing and join the sport.”
She continued to talk about her experience being out in the sport, “Being queer is hard. Sports and being in the spotlight, especially at the Olympics, only amplify the hardships of being out.”
She talks about why it may be easier for some people to feel comfortable coming out, and why others may chose not to. “Athletes also want to focus on their sport, once the public has something like that, then it sometimes makes it harder to focus on sports; Some may find it easier to just keep that info to themselves. We should be respectful, though, of everyone’s choices but also make sure that people feel comfortable being out if they do choose to do so.”
Scruggs reflects on what it would have meant to her as a kid to have someone like herself in the sport to look up to. “I think having someone like me would make me feel more comfortable in the sport. Growing up, I always felt like the odd one out as I didn’t see anyone like me. Hopefully now that isn’t the case anymore for people like me.”
After all this hard work and excitement, Scruggs is excited for her next chapter, sharing, “Right now, I’m just focused on finishing my last year of college and hopefully graduating with a job!”
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She says that if she had the chance to talk to her younger self, she’d say, “Keep working hard, it pays off!” She reminds young, aspiring athletes who look up to her, to “Always try to be your authentic self! You compete at your best when you feel your best.”
To ensure comprehensive and fair coverage of LGBTQ olympians, GLAAD’s 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Guide was created in collaboration with Athlete Ally and Pride House France, and produced by the GLAAD Media Institute, GLAAD’s training, research and consulting division. Learn more at GLAAD.org/Institute and support GLAAD’s work here.