Kamara James, a United States fencing Olympian passed away. The 2004 Athens games Olympian passed away recently in Modesto California at the age of 29.

Kamara James was one of the few women bench markers in the sport of fencing. Kamara was a talented fencer with incredible precision and a tremendous work ethic that awed even her fellow Olympians.  

U.S fencing announced through their website of the sad news that James had died on September 20. In their statement, little was said about the star's cause of death.

Kamara James began training on the sport at the tender age of 11.

James was born in Jamaica but later moved to Queens, New York with her mum when she was 10. She described her childhood as "difficult." During the trying period is when a teacher at her school introduced her to fencing champion Peter Westbrook.

Fencing gave her an outlet for all her problems. It also set her on the path to Olympic greatness. Fencing, she stated in an interview with New York Daily News, helped the young star break out of her shell.

After her skills developed, the Peter Westbrook Foundation granted her a scholarship to the prestigious Dwight School on Manhattan's upper West Side. James went on to get a full scholarship from Princeton, from where she landed an internship with Morgan Stanley, with whom she afforded a $50,000 grant to support her Olympic expenses.

Kamara James was only 19 when she went to Athens. She was the only female fencer on the team. She won a bronze medal at the games.

USA Fencing president Don Anthony issued this statement soon after the death of the star, "Kamara James was one of the brightest, precocious, self-assured young people I ever met. From her time as a very young fencer at the Peter Westbrook Foundation to her years at Princeton as an accomplished Olympian she remained warm, caring and confident. Kamara's untimely passing leaves our fencing community very saddened and her spirit, charm and wit will be dearly missed."

May she rest in eternal peace.