When Iris accompanied her parents to the club, one of the coaches made the toddler a little foil to play with. She joined classes four years later. It was natural for me, she says. In the Zimmermanns, coach Buckie Leach found apt pupils to mold into world-class athletes. He also tutored Ann Marsh, the third member of the Olympic foil team and one of Felicia s best friends.
Leach is the U.S. Olympic fencing coach.
The Zimmermann sisters loved fencing but also participated in other activities. Their mother took them to Mandarin classes on Saturday mornings. Iris now also speaks Spanish and some French, German and Italian. Felicia speaks German. Both became honors students and accomplished musicians at the School of the Arts in Rochester.