Kamara James ’08

Kamara, a former U.S. fencing Olympian, died Sept. 20, 2014, in Modesto, Calif. She was 29 years old.

Kamara was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and moved to New York City at age 10. She earned a full scholarship to Dwight School and then an academic scholarship to Princeton.

She earned a degree in religious studies from Princeton. Very notably, Kamara took a year off during her time at Princeton to represent Team USA as one of the youngest fencers at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She was the only U.S. women’s épée fencer to qualify for the games that year.

Friend and fellow fencer Soren Thompson ’05 said, “Kamara was the one person I’ve known who I feel could have done anything, and it is remarkable how much she accomplished at such a young age. She reached seemingly impossible goals again and again. She was a skilled athlete and writer, a tenacious competitor, and immensely intelligent, driven, and beautiful.”

Our class is proud of Kamara’s accomplishments and expresses deep sympathy to her family and friends.