Early years Aksamit started fencing when she was nine years old. As she describes her introduction to the sport: "They handed me a sword. They said, 'Hit the other kid'. I did. Everybody clapped and cheered. I was like, 'I don't understand what's going on. But, okay. This seems like a great time.'" She helped Team USA win the team gold medal at the
2016 Pan American Fencing Championships in
Panama City, Panama. She was subbed in the bronze medal
match against Italy. She had fractured a
vertebra in her back training for the Olympics, so she had to wear a back brace to compete in the Games. The following year, Aksamit won a silver medal with Team USA at the
2017 Pan American Fencing Championships in
Montreal, Canada. Two years later, she again won a gold medal with Team USA, this time at the
2019 Pan American Games in
Lima, Peru. In 2019, strapped for cash as she trained in an effort to again make Team USA for the Olympics, in order to make ends meet she lived with her mother in New Jersey, and worked a number of jobs in between training sessions. She also launched a
GoFundMe campaign in September 2019 to cover her training and travel expenses, which raised over $30,000. The
United States Olympic Committee gave her a stipend of $300 a month. She narrowly missed qualifying for Team USA for the
Tokyo Olympic Games. ==Outside of fencing==