Kamara James

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

James was born in Kingston, Jamaica, into a single-parent household. Her family moved to Jamaica, Queens, New York, when she was 10. She was given a full fencing scholarship to The Dwight School, an independent college preparatory school. She then attended Princeton University on a full academic scholarship.

James began fencing at age 11, through the Peter Westbrook Foundation. In 2003, she won a bronze medal at the junior world championships.

She competed in the women's individual épée event at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her parents separated before she was born; she met her father only once during her childhood. Her mother, Sandra Fernandez, She attended Public School 3 in Greenwich Village. James was given a full fencing scholarship to The Dwight School, an independent college preparatory school located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where annual tuition was $28,000. She then attended Princeton University on a full academic scholarship, majoring in religious studies.

Fencing career James began fencing at age 11 during fifth grade, through the Peter Westbrook Foundation, which had been set up by American Olympic bronze medalist Peter Westbrook to offer fencing lessons to inner-city children in New York.

She retired from competitive fencing after the Olympics.

She graduated in 2007 with a degree in religious studies.

In 2011, she moved to Modesto, California. Her cause of death was not disclosed. Friends indicated she had recently begun a new drug regimen to manage her condition.