Eleanor Harvey is inspiring the next generation of Canadian fencers 

At Paris 2024, three-time Olympian Eleanor Harvey cemented her place in Canadian fencing history by winning the nation’s first-ever Olympic medal in the sport.

The 30-year-old entered the tournament ranked 14th in the world but fought her way to a bronze medal in the women’s individual foil.

Just four days later, Team Canada came tantalizingly close to its second Olympic fencing medal, when Harvey and teammates Jessica Guo and Yunjia Zhang finished fourth in the women’s team foil event.

The future of Canadian fencing looks bright and Harvey shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, Harvey’s post-Olympic season has been the best of her life. She won Canada’s first ever foil World Cup gold medal in March, despite having pneumonia in the lead up to the competition in Cairo. Just a few weeks earlier, Harvey had won silver at a Grand Prix event in Italy, which followed a silver at the World Cup in Korea and bronze at the World Cup in Tunisia in late 2024.

Olympic.ca caught up with Harvey to chat about her string of successes, how life has changed since becoming an Olympic medallist, and the experience of coaching small children with swords.

How did you get into fencing?

I got into fencing when I was 10. I was looking for a new sport to try because I really wanted to go to the Olympics. That was my dream since I was really young. I had been doing karate, and then my mom’s boyfriend at the time suggested fencing. We heard an interview with Canadian fencer Sherraine Schalm, and when we heard that, we decided to try fencing.

We also used to sword fight in the backyard with sticks, so it made sense. And when I figured out that that was an Olympic sport, I knew that that was the one that I wanted to go for.

Now that you’ve had a bit of time to absorb the experience, what are the moments from Paris 2024 that have really stuck with you?

I think my top-eight bout is something that was a huge moment for me because it was a comeback—I was down by quite a bit—and I was able to somehow get into the right zone where I was able to make a comeback and win that bout. I think that was just a reminder that in fencing, anything can happen and anything is possible. So that was a really big one. 

And then the reset between the loss in the semifinal and then having to compete again for the bronze medal—that was definitely the biggest moment of the entire competition for me. I think that the attitude that I was able to bring to the bronze medal bout was really good, really positive, and put me in the state where I was able to eventually win. 

Was there anything that you were doing from a mental preparedness side of things?

In normal competitions, usually, once you lose, you’re out. Usually there are two bronze medals. So this isn’t a normal situation that happens. 

Something that definitely prepared me was my experience with NCAA fencing, because in the NCAA, it’s a completely different format. You have to keep fencing, whether you win or lose. You just have to keep going.

Other than that, it was just talking with my coaches and my mental performance consultant and giving a little bit of time to feel the feelings of the loss, but knowing that I was wrapping my head around the fact that I was still fighting for a medal.

We were able to get into the state—just by talking—where I knew that no matter what, I was not going to fence with fear. I was going to fence in a way where I was just focused on scoring touches. 

You’ve had a real hot streak post-Olympics. Can you talk a little bit about how training and competing has been going?

Yeah, I think [the Olympic medal] was a really big confidence boost, and just was proof to myself that I need to go into every tournament knowing that on any given day, I can beat anyone. 

The season leading up to the Olympics was one of my worst seasons in quite a while. And then post-Olympics, no matter what happens for the rest of the season, it’s officially been my best season ever. I think that is partially because of the confidence boost of the Olympics, and then partially because I moved to Vancouver to train at Dynamo Fencing Club here. 

The training here has been extremely good. I’m mostly training with teenage boys. I have one national team teammate, and there’s just so much fencing here that I can fence as much as I want, whereas at a lot of clubs in Canada, there’s just not enough strong competitors to really challenge me on a daily basis. 

My coach and I have really been able to double down on what we believe, because now there’s a lot of proof that what we’re doing is working, and so just really just continuing exactly what we’ve been doing, but trusting it, I think, just a little bit more.

What’s something that people don’t know or maybe get wrong about your sport?

That’s a good question! It’s a lot more tiring than people might think! When people try it, they’re usually surprised. They’re like, “Oh, I’m tired!” I’m like, “Yeah, I hope so!” 

A lot of people ask: “Does it hurt when you get hit?” And not really. You get some bruises, but it’s one of the more safe sports.

Another thing I thought of—in the weapon that I fence, just because you hit first doesn’t mean you get the point. That’s also a common thing that people might not understand when they first watch.

Do you have a favorite moment as a fencing fan?

Something that always stands out to me is watching my teammate, Jessica Guo, win the junior world championships. I am not there in person because I’m too old, but I always stay up all night and watch the competition when she’s fencing. 

She’s a three-time world champion for cadet and junior, and just seeing a Canadian win a world championship, I’ve never seen that before. Even though she’s younger than me, and I think she probably grew up watching me more, we’re teammates now, and so when I see her winning a whole world championship, that’s something that’s really, really cool to see.

I’m sure that your moment in Paris is going to be a big moment that lots of young fencers in Canada will remember. When I spoke to Cassie Sharpe, Team Canada Olympic medallist in halfpipe skiing, she said she wanted to put her daughter in fencing after watching you at Paris 2024!

That’s so cool! We can use some athletic kids!

You do some coaching for young fencers. What’s that experience like?

I really like working with kids. It’s really fun to get to know a bunch of young individuals and find different ways to connect with all of them. That’s something that I was kind of worried about moving from Calgary, where I was training the last four years, to coming here. In Calgary I had quite a good relationship with all the kids. And I felt like I was one of the reasons that they liked coming to fencing. 

When I first got here, I knew it was a new group of kids, so it took a bit of time to get to that level. But where I’m at now, I’m feeling really good about the impact that I’m having at the club, in terms of running a class for the really little kids. I’ve never coached kids that little before, but I actually really like it. It’s easier, in a way, because it’s less about fencing-specific things and more about bringing a good energy, keeping it fun and keeping them engaged. 

And then in terms of the older kids, I’m not their personal coach telling them exactly what to do, but I’m a part of their classes. I definitely make a huge effort to get to know them individually, and become someone that, if they do have questions about fencing, that I can be a resource to them. Or if they’re a less competitive kid and they’re just someone that enjoys fencing, just for the sport, that I’m still contributing in a positive way to their experience at the fencing club.

You’re also a role model within your own team. Is there any advice that you’ve given your younger teammates?

I think it hasn’t been as much explicit words that have been said. I definitely, as the oldest person and most experienced person on the team, have a bigger impact on the culture of the team. I’ve noticed when new people come on to the team, they’re trying to see, oh how do I act in this situation? 

In the team event, when we’re all fighting as one, [it’s also about] how do we want the energy to be on the bench when you’re not competing? When you’re in between bouts what do we talk about? 

The vibe that we’ve been able to establish has been so healthy and good. We are a team that in between bouts and even during bouts, we’ve realized that we like to keep it a bit lighter, a bit more fun. But we really have had a lot of moments where we’ve been able to bring the intensity when we need it the most. 

I think when we have our whole team, and we’re able to find those moments and find that energy, I think that we’re a team that can be a threat to any other team in the world. 

What have you learned throughout the course of your career?

This season was the first time I’ve won a World Cup gold medal in the senior category. And I realized that I’ve been fencing for 20 years, and I’ve been competing at senior World Cups for 15 years, so it literally took 15 years of competing at these things for me to finally win one. 

I think that’s just, like, a good message to a lot of younger athletes who might be questioning themselves. I’ve had so many moments where I truly believed, “Oh, I used to be good, and now I’m not.” That happens over and over and over, at least to me, and I think it happens to a lot of people, but for some reason, I just keep going, and I was able to win a World Cup. 

So, I think it’s normal to question yourself and have ups and downs. But when you put in the time, and not only that, but actually put yourself in an environment where you’re able to enjoy your day-to-day training, I think that just really increases the chances that eventually, something really good can happen.

Rapid fire with Eleanor Harvey

An athlete you look up to?

Sherraine Schalm.

Any pre-competition rituals or routines?

I do a lot of stretching. My coach always makes fun of me because he says I look like an old lady warming up for a Zumba class or something. I like to feel loose! 

I also have a fixation on tying and retying my shoes until they’re exactly equal. I hate it when I can feel one shoe is tighter than the other. It really bothers me. So sometimes I find myself tying them like four times before the bout, like a nervous tic. 

If you weren’t a fencer, what sport would you do? 

I think I would like something like badminton. Or also maybe another type of combat sport, like taekwondo. 

Best pop culture representation of fencing? 

There have been some good ones from Korea! There was a TV show where the main character was a national team women’s sabre fencer, and that was probably the best one I’ve ever seen. 

When you see it in more like American shows, it’s usually pretty bad. And they even use terms that I’ve never heard before! On Brooklyn 99, one of the characters was fencing, and they  were saying words like “redopio.” Like, “Oh, I got you with my redopio!” 

My friend saw that episode and was like: “What’s the word redopio mean?” I’m like, “I’ve never heard of that before.” But I think they also used one term where the character says, “Oh, I’m the King of the Croisé!” And croisé is actually a fencing term. And so now my friend just calls me the King of the Croisé .

That writer’s room is probably just googling “fencing terminology”.

Honestly, I’m not the best with the terminology. There’s like four main parries that I use and I still get two of them confused. My coach will be like, “Alright, parry seven!” and I do parry eight instead [chuckles].

Harvey and other members of the national foil team will compete at the Fencing World Cup taking place May 1-4, 2025 at home in Vancouver.