Print Biography / Save as PDF 
PRESCOD Nzingha
NOC United States   
GenderWomen
Born 14 Aug 1992 in Brooklyn, NY, USA
Height1.63 m
Human Interest
Further Personal Information
Residence New York, NY, USA
Higher education Political Science - Columbia University: New York, NY, USA
General Interest
Hobbies Reading, shopping, baking, swimming. (nylon.com, 04 Nov 2015; teamusa.org, 01 Jan 2017; gocolumbialions.com, 01 May 2015)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport? "My mother read about an organisation that Peter Westbrook founded. Their goal was to get inner city kids, who wouldn't usually be exposed to fencing, to participate for free. If they saw you had potential, they would give you a scholarship to go to the fencing club for free. I wasn't very good at first. My sister would always beat me, and I didn't like to lose. I kept practising so I could beat my sister, and I started to love it more and more."
General Interest
Hero / Idol US tennis player Serena Williams. (nylon.com, 04 Nov 2015)
Awards and honours During her collegiate career at Columbia University she was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2010/11 and was named First Team All-Ivy in 2010/11 and 2012/13. (gocolumbialions.com, 01 May 2015)
Sport Specific Information
Handedness Right
When and where did you begin this sport? She began fencing at age nine at the Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York, NY, United States of America.
General Interest
Nicknames Zingy (teamusa.org, 25 Aug 2010)
Sporting philosophy / motto "Find something you love and put the hours in. Focusing on the process, rather than the result, is key in succeeding at anything. The most successful people don't allow excuses to get in their way and are willing to do things they hate for their vision." (blackenterprise.com, 02 Oct 2015)
Other information RETIREMENT
In January 2020 she announced she was retiring from competition due to a persistent hip injury. She underwent hip replacement surgery in March 2020 and said she would be focusing on community work and coaching. "For 19 years, fencing has been my best friend. Peter Westbrook introduced me to her and Buckie Leach taught me how to love her. My love for fencing will never change but our relationship will now be different. In this next chapter, I'm looking forward to empowering kids from my community with this special kind of love. I'm really proud of my experience in the sport and will always have fond memories." In June 2020 she founded Fencing in the Park in New York, NY, United States of America. "Fencing in the Park is a community-based, outdoor summer series introducing the less visible sport of fencing to children of colour in Brooklyn neighbourhoods that are unlikely to access it, otherwise." (Instagram profile, 14 Jan 2021; LinkedIn profile, 03 Apr 2021)

OCCUPATION
In 2017 she began working for a financial accounting services company in New York, NY, United States of America. (LinkedIn profile, 04 Jun 2019)

NAME
She was named after a warrior queen from Angola. "I'm named after a 17th-century queen from Angola, Nzinga Mbande. During the colonial period, the Europeans would try to come to Africa and take their land, and she defended her territory. I think it's not a coincidence that I'm named Nzingha and I go off with my sword and fight people for my country." (espn.com, 05 Jul 2016)
Further Personal Information
Occupation Consultant
Languages English, French
General Interest
Injuries She underwent hip replacement surgery in March 2020. (Instagram profile, 09 Mar 2020)

She required surgery on a labrum tear in her hip in 2014. (nylon.com, 04 Nov 2015)
Milestones She became the first female US foil fencer to win a Grand Prix title when she claimed gold at the 2013 event in Marseille, France. (usafencing.org, 27 May 2013; gocolumbialions.com, 01 May 2015)

Major Results
Year Rank Event Venue
Olympic Games
2012 6 Team Foil London, England
World Championships
2018 1 Team Foil Wuxi, China
2018 8 Individual Foil Wuxi, China
2015 3 Individual Foil Moscow, Russia
2011 7 Team Foil Catania, Italy
2010 8 Team Foil Paris, France
2009 7 Team Foil Antalya, Turkey
Pan American Championships
2019 6 Individual Foil Toronto, Canada
2018 1 Team Foil Havana, Cuba
2018 3 Individual Foil Havana, Cuba
2016 1 Team Foil Panama, Panama
2015 1 Team Foil Santiago, Chile
2015 5 Individual Foil Santiago, Chile
2014 3 Individual Foil San José, Costa Rica
2013 1 Team Foil Cartagena, Colombia
2013 2 Individual Foil Cartagena, Colombia
2012 3 Individual Foil Cancún, Mexico
2011 1 Team Foil Reno, NV, United States
2011 3 Individual Foil Reno, NV, United States
2010 1 Team Foil San José, Costa Rica
2009 1 Individual Foil San Salvador, El Salvador