Born in Manhattan, raised in New Jersey, Maya Lawrence began fencing at Teaneck High School and continued competing for Princeton, where she studied under Coach Michel Sebastiani and helped the team bring home three Ivy League Championships. In 2005, after winning the national championship, she moved to France to train with world-renowned coach Daniel Levavasseur. Her Olympic dream suffered a setback when she tore both anterior cruciate ligaments (ACLs), but she returned to the sport for the 2012 London Olympics, where she won a bronze medal in the women’s team epée event.
After retiring in 2013, she is now working as a marketing professional for an advertising technology firm in Paris. She has stayed involved in the sport as a member of the U.S. Fencing Ethics Committee and U.S. Fencing Sports Performance Resource Team.