Kamara James died. In a press release issued by USA Fencing on Tuesday, it was revealed that Olympic fencer, Kamara James died at the age 29 on September 20th. The cause of death has not been revealed, but several sources said that James was battling an undisclosed mental illness.
Kamara James died at the young age of 29. In a lengthy press release that was put out by USA Fencing, the organization praised Miss James’ amazing accomplishments, but declined to give the cause of her death.
Kamara James was born on November 23, 1984 in Kingston, Jamaica and moved to the United States of America when she was 10 years of age. James whose parents divorced before she was born, was raised by her mother and met her father only once in her life.
Despite being from a broken home and having financial difficulties, James was a brilliant student and a fighter. Once in Queens, New York with her mother, James continued to shine as a student and as an athlete.
Her talent as an amateur fencer prompted one of her middle school teachers to introduce her to Olympic fencing champion, Peter Westbrook. Westbrook worked with James at the Peter Westbrook Foundation, where she became a master of fencing while getting almost a perfect SAT score.
Kamara James, an overachiever was awarded a fencing scholarship and attended the Dwight School in Manhattan. The precocious and intelligent teen received a full scholarship to Princeton.
The Olympic fencer obtained the $50,000 Morgan Stanley grant as she worked on her degree in religious studies. James eventually transferred to Harvard to work on a master’s degree in comparative religion.
In her short life, James accomplished so much. In 2003, Kamara James, picked up the bronze medal at the junior world championships and the following year, she made the Olympic team and took part in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
At the age of 19, she made history twice by being one the youngest fencers as well as the only female épée fencer to qualify that year. While no one knows how Kamara James died, it has been confirmed that she was taking medication for an undisclosed mental illness.
James had recently started a new drug regimen, was living comfortably and had begun thinking about her future. It is being reported that Kamara James died in Modesto, California and the details for her memorial service have not been revealed.
James was supposed to be celebrating her birthday in few weeks; instead, her friends and family are mourning her passing.
