Kamara Latoya James (November 23, 1984 – September 20, 2014) was an American Olympic

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...

fencer. James was born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, into a single-parent household. Her family moved to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, when she was 10. She was given a full fencing scholarship to The Dwight School, an independent

college preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

. She then attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

on a full academic scholarship. James began fencing at age 11, through the

Peter Westbrook Foundation Peter Jonathan Westbrook (born April 16, 1952) is an American former sabre fencing champion, active businessman and founder of the Peter Westbrook Foundation. A former U.S. champion and Olympic medalist, Westbrook's career began when his Japanes ...

. In 2003, she won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the junior world championships. She competed in the women's individual

event at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. James died at age 29, in September 2014.

Early life

James, who was Black, was born in

, in 1984, into a

single-parent A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...

household. Her parents separated before she was born; she met her father only once during her childhood. Her mother, Sandra Fernandez, remarried to Delano Fernandez when James was 7. The family moved to

, three years later. She attended Public School 3 in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. James' stepfather died of

brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...

two years later, in 1996. James was given a full fencing scholarship to The Dwight School, an independent

located on

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

’s

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

, where annual tuition was $28,000. She scored a 1,510 on her

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

. She then attended

on a full academic scholarship, majoring in religious studies.

Fencing career

James began fencing at age 11 during

fifth grade Fifth grade (called Grade 5 in some regions) is a year of education in many nations, and some other regions call it Year 5. In the United States, the fifth grade is the fifth and last year of elementary school in most schools. In other schools, it ...

, through the

, which had been set up by American Olympic bronze medalist

Peter Westbrook Peter Jonathan Westbrook (born April 16, 1952) is an American former sabre fencing champion, active businessman and founder of the Peter Westbrook Foundation. A former U.S. champion and Olympic medalist, Westbrook's career began when his Japanes ...

to offer fencing lessons to inner-city children in New York. Andrea Schwartz, one of her teachers at Public School 3, introduced her to Westbrook. From the age of 16, she was on the US Senior National Team in women's

. In 2003, she won a

at the junior world championships. She gained a world ranking of 50 in épée, which earned her a place on the Olympic team for the

in Athens.

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

provided her with $50,000 towards her Olympic expenses after she served an internship at the firm. She competed in the 2004 Olympics as a 19-year-old, the only American in the women's individual épée event. She was defeated 15–11 by 10th-seeded Russian Tatyana Logunova. She retired from competitive fencing after the Olympics.

Later life

James returned to Princeton after the Athens Olympics. James was diagnosed with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

in her senior year at Princeton, when she had a breakdown and was hospitalized for three months. She graduated in 2007 with a degree in religious studies. She then was admitted into Harvard, to study for a master's degree in

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...

. She then participated in the opening of a fencing club in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

, but subsequently suffered a second breakdown. In 2011, she moved to

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

. James died at age 29, and was found September 20, 2014, in her apartment in Modesto, California. Her death was reported by the U.S. Olympic team in mid-October 2014. Her cause of death was not disclosed. Friends and former teammates noted that she had a

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. Friends indicated she had recently begun a new drug regimen to manage her condition. She was buried in

Farmingdale, Long Island Farmingdale is an incorporated Political subdivisions of New York#Village, village on Long Island within the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York. The population was ...

, New York on October 25, 2014.

References

External links

*
"Kamara RIP; Kamara James (1984-2014)"
by

Keeth Smart Keeth Thomas Smart
''The New York Times'', 27 May 2007. (born July 29, 1978) is a

, published October 19, 2014 (video) {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Kamara 1984 births 2014 deaths American female épée fencers Olympic fencers of the United States Fencers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica Sportspeople from Queens, New York People from Jamaica, Queens People from Modesto, California Jamaican emigrants to the United States Princeton Tigers fencers 21st-century American women

Early life

Fencing career

Later life

See also

References

External links