Canada has won its first-ever Olympic fencing medal after an amazing run by 29-year-old Eleanor Harvey in the Women’s Foil event.
Harvey made a Cinderella run to the bronze medal bout where she was able to knock off the fourth-ranked Alice Volpe of Italy in a nail-biting 15-12 finish. This is the first Olympic medal for Harvey and one that makes Canadian history.
She will now have the honour of standing on the Olympic podium inside Paris’ prestigious Grand Palais, which is over a century old.
The fencer has brought Canada their second medal of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and first bronze medal, following swimmer Summer McIntosh’s silver medal in the women’s 400m freestyle.
🥉Médaille🥉
Escrime 🤺 : Eleanor Harvey 🇨🇦 est médaillée de bronze au fleuret. Quelle performance! 🥉#Paris2024 #RCsports #ÉquipeCanada #jeuxolympiques #escrime pic.twitter.com/pGdIDbjwFT
— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) July 28, 2024
Harvey has turned quite a few heads while competing at the event. She entered the tournament ranked 14th in the world in the women’s foil. In the quarterfinals, she knocked off the third-ranked Martina Favaretto earlier today.
Her conquest to a gold medal was stopped in the semi-finals after losing to American Lauren Scruggs by a score of 15-9.
The accomplishment is a massive one, as fencing has been contested in every single iteration of the modern version of the Olympic Games since 1896.
🇨🇦🥉ELEANOR HARVEY FOR BRONZE🥉🇨🇦
Hamilton’s Harvey defeats 🇮🇹Alice Volpi 15- 12 to win women’s foil bronze at Paris 2024.
Canada’s first-ever Olympic fencing medal and she’s won it at her third Olympics.
She can’t believe it! pic.twitter.com/K1KDRYCMFb
— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) July 28, 2024
It’s been an unexpectedly exciting sport for Canadian fans tuning into the Paris 2024 Olympics. Outside of Harvey, the Canadians had an unexpected upset on the men’s side earlier in the weekend when Fares Arfa eliminated three-time Olympic champion Aron Szilagyi of Hungary in the table of 32.
Unfortunately, Arfa’s run was halted in the quarterfinals.
There is no doubt that Harvey’s bronze medal finish will go down in Canadian history as being the first fencer from the Great White North to make a name for herself on the international stage.
It will also serve as a point of inspiration for up-and-coming Canadian fencers for generations to come.