Columbia Athletics Celebrates Black History Month; A Look At Nzingha Prescod '15CC
2/24/2016 11:00:00 AM | General
Nzingha Prescod is no stranger to success. She was not only the first African-American women ever to win an individual medal at the Fencing World Championships in 2015, but she also was the first American women to ever win a Grand Prix title at Marseilles in 2013.
At the age of nine the Brooklyn native enrolled in the Peter Westbrook Foundation, an organization devoted to bringing the sport of fencing to minorities in the city. In 2003, Nzingha captured her first Youth 10 national competition win. By the age of 15 she was counted among the top five Senior foilists in the country, and had won her first under 17 World Championship. The following year she repeated the feat.
Enrolling at Columbia in 2011, Nzingha went on to win Ivy League Rookie of the Year. To cap off an amazing freshman season, Nzingha was featured in Essence Magazine as a part of their Work and Wealth Power list, among the likes of Michelle Obama. She also received First Team All Ivy Honors in both 2011 and 2013. In 2015 she graduated with her degree in Political Science concentrating in Race and Ethnicity. Ms. Prescod eventually wishes to lobby for government funding of sports programs.
Fueled by her competitive drive, Nzingha has been a member of six consecutive Junior National Teams, and three Senior National teams, as well as a member of the 2012 Olympic squad where she finished 22nd overall in the individual event. Since then, she has overcome early arthritis and a labrum tear in her hip to achieve a No. 2 ranking in the U.S. and No. 7 in the world.
Prescod plans on using her prior Olympic experience to fight her way onto the podium in the 2016 Olympics in Rio. “Now, I have a strategy,” she says, “I know myself, so I can go out there and be myself to the best of my ability.” Nzingha not only wants to win a medal this year, she wants her actions and achievements to “inspire young black girls to be fearless.”
Featured Article: Nzingha Prescod Is America's Leading Black Fencer
