Boston College Assistant Fencing Coach Ralf Bissdorf Leads Team USA to Gold and Silver

Boston College women’s assistant fencing coach Ralf Bissdorf led Team USA to two medals the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday. 

Lee Kiefer took home the gold medal after defeating Lauren Scruggs 15-6 in the women’s individual foil event. The victory marked Kiefer’s second consecutive gold medal in the event. Scruggs takes the the silver, her first Olympic medal in her career. 

Bissdorf is a veteran coach in fencing and has worked with fencers in Singapore and the United States. During his own career, Bissdorf has won multiple championship in team and individual, was No. 1 in the World Rank, and won a silver medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the individual foil event. He has served as an assistant coach at The Heights since 2019. 

The Germany native has been Team USA’s women’s foil national coach since 2022.

Sunday’s event also made history. Eleanor Harvey from Team Canada won the bronze medal after defeating Team Italy’s Alice Volpi 15-12. The 

Bissdorf is one of three Boston College representations in this year’s Olympics. Eagles alumnae Erika Reineke (‘17) will compete for Team USA in the women’s dinghy event (sailing) and Laura Hottenrott (‘16) will compete for Team Germany in the women’s marathon. 

The sailing events kick off on August 1 with the first round of the women’s dinghy taking place at 9:35 a.m. ET and marathon events start on August 10 with the women’s event taking place on August 11 at 2 a.m. ET. Events be watched on NBC and streamed on Peacock.