POTTER COUNTY, Pa. (WETM) — Team USA Fencing coach Anthony “Buckie” Leach was killed in a motorcycle crash in Potter County, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Pennsylvania State Police confirmed the fatal accident in a crash report on Monday and Team USA released a statement confirming that Leach was the rider in the fatal crash.
“Our hearts are broken at the loss of U.S. Women’s Foil Team coach Buckie Leach just two weeks after leading the squad at his fifth Olympic Games,” shared USA Fencing on Facebook.
A 2013 inductee into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame, USA Fencing says Leach passed away at the age of 62 during a cross-country motorcycle road trip after his return from the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The State Police crash report shows that around 6:35 p.m. on Aug. 14, Leach was traveling east on Route 6 in Pike Township when he struck a deer. Leach was ejected off of his 2021 Ducati Supersport and sustained fatal injuries.
State Police say Leach was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
A 2013 USA Fencing Hall of Fame inductee, Leach is “credited with building the U.S. Women’s Foil Team’s success over nearly 30 years.”
Leach coached Team USA in four Olympic games and helped lead the team to fourth-place finishes in the 2000 Sydney and 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Under Leach’s coaching, the U.S. Women’s Foil Team won three straight medals at the Senior World Championships, including gold in 2018, silver in 2017, and bronze in 2018.
Leach joined the Notre Dame University coaching staff in the 2016-17 season where the team would go to win 12 individual NCAA medals and three team titles.
