It was one of the indelible moments of the Paris Olympic Games.
The look on Eleanor Harvey’s face, a mixture of shock, amazement and numbness, after the Canadian won his fight of bronze medal fences, ensuring the first appearance on the country’s podium in sport.
Harvey’s reaction may have led you to believe that his victory was unique, that he had even surprised herself and was the author of one of those classic Olympic stories of Olympic helpless.
Not so fast.
Instead, Harvey’s monitoring season has consolidated it as a legitimate contender in the International Fencing Circuit. The 30 -year -old has claimed four medals in five competitions, including the gold of the First Canadian World Cup.
“It definitely goes better than I would have expected,” Harvey said about his season. “I mean, of course, every tournament I am going to, I always want to win it. I always think I can win it. At least, you know, win a medal. Every time I ask the podium, it is a great milestone in my career and my life.”
Look | Harvey reflects on the historic victory at the bronze medal at the Olympic Games:
Eleanor Harvey de Hamilton, Ontario, looks back at his fencing bronze medal in the individual lamina of women in Paris 2024.
But Harvey’s belief, if not new, was certainly promoted by his triumph in Paris.
“I think my performance at the Olympic Games was definitely a great reinforcement of trust and made me very safe in my ability to handle high pressure situations because nothing, no competition, is as full of pressure as the Olympic Games,” he said.
First, it reinforced the value of resilience. In general, fencing competitions do not include third place fighting: the events deliver two bronze medals.
Not in the Olympic Games.
“I think it really made me feel able to return better of difficult situations,” said Harvey, who beat Alice Volpi from Italy to reach the podium in the individual role of women.
“I didn’t win because I’m better in fencing,” he continued. “I won because somehow I could eliminate the pressure from the situation and have fun. And I think I have been able to reduce that and use it on a smaller scale within the fighting.”
Implacably positive mentality
What takes us to Cairo, Egypt, the site of its Gold Medal of the World Cup.
Approximately two weeks before the World Cup, Harvey was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, a mild bacterial infection that resembles a cold, according to the Mayo Clinic.
He left Harvey unable to train, despite his best efforts, and finally forced her to continue biotic and simply rest.
He began to feel better when the openings approached, but he knew he was not as prepared as usual, something that gave a positive.
Harvey has been a fighter all his life: his mother sold his house to finance his fencing future, and the two moved with his grandmother.
Fencing is a notoriously expensive sport, but the Canadian persevered.
“She reviewed those challenges that many rich children do not need to pass. Therefore, it is much stronger,” said Peter Ho, coach of Toronto Fencing Club who spent time with Harvey when he was a young athlete.
Due to his Olympic success, the native of Hamilton, Ontario, was appointed Golden Horseshoe 2024 athlete of the year, beating his partner Olympic and potential MVP of the NBA Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for honor.
Harvey said that being an Olympic medalist also gives him an additional impulse to encourage the next generation.
“I see a boom not only in the number of children, but also in the number of children who are taking it quite seriously … I think it is really special for me to be able to represent Canada at the highest level and, hopefully, show children that we are a country that can be very successful in this sport,” he said.
After Paris, Harvey moved to Vancouver, a plan that was in place regardless of the results.
Being near a new group of children in their training center, he said he feels additional validity thanks to his bronze medal, in addition to his state as an Olympic three times.
Meanwhile, his mother’s first sacrifices are paying off.
“I feel a lot of gratitude that it can be a fencing in Canada, so that life is a fencing. As that is not normal … and that is something that I do not take lightly,” Harvey said.
Now, Harvey will complete its season with two more world drinks, the PAN AM Championship in June and the World Championship in July.
The first stop at that circuit is a World Cup in Lima from Friday.
And Harvey’s next mission is to capture a team medal along with his younger teammates, all teenagers.
It seems close: the team was at a bronze point at the Olympic Games and placed in fourth place in Cairo.
When Harvey returned from that World Cup, the hardware that apparently unlocked his successful career was found in an unusual place, filled in a sock at the counter of his bathroom.
“Oh, my God,” Harvey replied when he was asked for the whereabouts of the Olympic Bronze Medal.
“I had to take it somewhere for an event and then I had to go the next day to go to Cairo. So I had no time to do anything with him. There is no lack of respect for the medal or whatever, but I will return it. I have an area where I keep trophies, medals and those things.”
It is an area that is suddenly filling quite quickly.
