Eleanor Harvey Makes History with Olympic Bronze in Fencing

Eleanor Harvey has made history by winning Canada‘s very first Olympic medal in fencing. The 29-year-old athlete secured a bronze medal in the women’s individual foil event on Day 2 of the Olympics, defeating Italy‘s Alice Volpi with a score of 15-12 in the third-place match.

Coming into this match, Harvey had a winning record against Volpi, having won four out of their previous seven encounters. This confidence might have helped as she faced off against the fourth-ranked fencer in the world, while Harvey was ranked 14th.

Harvey wasted no time and jumped straight into action, going up 3-0 before Volpi could even score. She continued to dominate the match, leading 6-1 at one point, then 9-4 as they headed into the break. It was an impressive display of skill on her part, showcasing her defensive abilities despite Volpi’s attempts to close the gap.

In the second round, Harvey started strong again, quickly adding another point. However, Volpi took a medical timeout after seemingly suffering a cramp. Once the action resumed, Harvey kept her composure and extended her lead to 14-11. Despite Volpi’s efforts to catch up, Harvey secured the final point she needed, marking her place in Canada’s sports history.

This was Harvey’s second time competing in the Olympics, having made her debut at Rio 2016, where she also made waves by achieving Canada’s best-ever result in any individual fencing event, placing seventh in that competition.