Mariel Zagunis

Mariel Zagunis was an American fencer who took home two gold medals in sabre fencing at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, you might say that Zagunis was born to be an Olympian. Her parents were both star collegiate rowers in the 1970s, and together competed for the U.S. National Rowing Team at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Thus, when Mariel was born in 1985, her parents instilled in her an appreciation for sports. Zagunis eventually decided on fencing, which she took up as a young girl while growing up in Portland. Sabre fencing became a family sport of sorts, as both of her younger and older brother were also accomplished fencers. Zagunis excelled in fencing throughout high school, racking up a number of awards on the state and national level, and soon joined the U.S. National Fencing Team in 2000. It did not take Zagunis long to establish herself as one of the sport's leading fencers. She made history by becoming the first fencer in U.S. history to win the Jr. Cup World Championship in 2002-a feat that she repeated in 2003 and 2004. 2004 was also the year Zagunis competed in her first Olympics in Athens. Despite entering the competition as an underdog, Zagunis shocked the fencing world when she defeated several far more accomplished fencers to win the gold medal. Zagunis repeated her gold medal win in 2008 at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. In 2012 Zagunis had the high honor of being selected as one of the flag bearers at the Opening Ceremonies at the London Olympics. Despite not winning a medal at these games, the chance to hold the American Flag for the entire world to see was a highlight of her career. By the time 2016 had rolled around Zagunis was training hard to compete in her fourth consecutive Olympics, which took place that summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.