Ruth White (fencer) explained

Ruth White
Birth Date:16 July 1951
Birth Place:Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Sport:Fencing
Show-Medals:yes

Ruth White (born July 16, 1951) is an American doctor and retired foil fencer.

Life and career

White was born on July 16, 1951[1] in Baltimore, Maryland where she faced racial discrimination at school for being African-American.[2]

In 1969, White became the first African-American to win a US fencing championship. She also competed at the 1971 Pan American Games where she won a gold medal in the team foil event and silver medal in the individual foil event.

She was the first African-American women to represent the US in fencing at the Olympics. She competed in the women's individual and team foil events at the 1972 Summer Olympics.[3]

Soon after she competed at the Olympics, White left fencing to go into medicine at the New York University School of Medicine and went on to work in internal medicine.

White was inducted into NYU's Hall of Fame in 1989 and into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame in 2001.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ruth WHITE - Olympic Fencing United States of America . International Olympic Committee . September 3, 2019 . en . June 12, 2016.
  2. Web site: Henneman . Kristen . Olympian Ruth White Found Freedom in Fencing . USA Fencing . September 3, 2019 . en-us . February 27, 2017.
  3. Web site: Ruth White Olympic Results . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418043354/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wh/ruth-white-1.html . dead . April 18, 2020 . February 23, 2011 . sports-reference.com.