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Small Stars: Fencing champ just keeps on winning

Posted at 3:34 PM, May 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-12 18:45:10-04

This week, we're checking in on a former Small Star from right here in the Valley -- and right now, she's blowing the doors off the sport of fencing on an international level.

When we first introduced you to Kara Linder, she was coming off her second women's Saber Cadet World Cup title.

At just 15 years old, this Chandler teen is quickly making her mark on the sport of fencing.

"The Pan-American Games were held in Cancun, Mexico this year, and I fenced four events and won gold in all four of them," Linder said.

That's right: She won gold in all four events! That sounds like quite an accomplishment. So, just how special is that?

"No one's ever won four Pan-American titles in one year," she said.

Now, I'd say that's pretty special!

"I wasn't expecting it, and I was kind of like, 'Oh, that's really cool,' and didn't realize it until I got home," she said.

Oh, but it doesn't stop there. She's winning at an amazing pace.

"I was world champion for under-17 team, which is the top competitor for boys and girls for all three weapons," Linder said.

She's doing so well in her first year of competition that it wouldn't be a stretch to see here on the biggest stage of all in the very near future.

"My coach thinks that I could go to the Olympics for it," she said.

And she's traveling so much these days -- to places like France, Italy, Poland, Cancun, Costa Rica -- that her teachers are starting to wonder where she'll show up next!

"The joke is like, where in the world is Kara?" she said. "So, they're going to get a map and put sticky notes where I am."

So, is there a highlight from all this traveling and success?

"We defeated Russia in the final, and because Russia's like a really big figure head in the fencing world, to beat them was really cool," she said.

And when it's all said and done, what resonates the most with Kara?

"Probably just seeing how much my success has paid off and hard work," she said.

Congratulations, Kara Linder -- and continued success on your road to the Olympics. Once again, you're this week's Small Star!