It was one of the indelible moments from the Paris Olympics.
The look on Eleanor Harvey’s face — a mixture of shock, awe and numbness — after the Canadian won her bronze-medal fencing bout, securing the country’s first-ever podium appearance in the sport.
Harvey’s reaction may have led you to believe her win was a one-off — that she had even seemingly surprised herself and authored one of those classic Olympic underdog tales.
Not so fast.
Instead, Harvey’s follow-up season has cemented her as a legitimate contender on the international fencing circuit. The 30-year-old has claimed four medals in five competitions, including Canada’s first World Cup gold.
“It’s definitely going better than I would have ever hoped for,” Harvey said of her season. “I mean, of course, every tournament that I go to, I always want to win it. I always believe I can win it. At least, you know, win a medal. Every time I step onto the podium, it’s a huge milestone in my career and my life.”
WATCH | Harvey reflects on historic bronze-medal win at Olympics:
Eleanor Harvey of Hamilton, Ont., looks back at her fencing bronze medal in women’s individual foil at Paris 2024.
But Harvey’s belief, if not newfound, was certainly boosted by her triumph in Paris.
“I think my performance at the Olympics was definitely a huge confidence booster and it made me very secure in my ability to handle high-pressure situations because nothing, no competition, is as full of pressure as the Olympics,” she said.
First and foremost, it reinforced the value of resilience. Typically, fencing competitions do not include third-place bouts — events hand out two bronze medals instead.
Not at the Olympics.
“I think that it made me feel really able to come back from hard situations better,” said Harvey, who beat Italy’s Alice Volpi to reach the podium in women’s individual foil.
“I didn’t win because I’m better at fencing,” she continued. “I won because I was able to somehow remove the pressure from the situation and have fun. And I think I’ve been able to kind of shrink that down and use that on a smaller scale within bouts.”
Relentlessly positive mindset
Which brings us to Cairo, Egypt — the site of her World Cup gold medal.
About two weeks before the World Cup, Harvey was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, a mild bacterial infection that resembles a cold, per the Mayo Clinic.
It left Harvey unable to train, despite her best efforts, and eventually forced to her go on anti-biotics and simply rest up.
She began feeling better as the opening bouts approached, but knew she wasn’t nearly as prepared as usual — something she spun into a positive.
Harvey has been a fighter her whole life — her mom sold their house to fund her fencing future, and the two moved in with her grandma.
Fencing is a notoriously expensive sport, yet the Canadian persevered.
“She went through those challenges that a lot of rich kids don’t need to go through. Therefore, she’s way stronger,” said Peter Ho, a coach at the Toronto Fencing Club who spent time with Harvey as a young athlete.
For her Olympic success, the Hamilton, Ont., native was named the Golden Horseshoe 2024 athlete of the year, beating out fellow Olympian and potential NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the honour.
Harvey said being an Olympic medallist also gives her an extra boost in encouraging the next generation.
“I see just such a boom in not only the amount of kids, but the amount of kids that are taking it quite seriously. … I think it’s really special to me to be able to represent Canada at the highest level and hopefully show kids that we are a country that can become very successful in this sport,” she said.
After Paris, Harvey moved to Vancouver, a plan that was in place regardless of results.
Being around a new group of kids at her training centre, she said she feels added validity thanks to her bronze medal in addition to her status as a three-time Olympian.
Meanwhile, her mom’s early sacrifices are paying off.
“I do feel a lot of gratitude that I’m able to be a fencer in Canada, to make a living being a fencer. Like that’s not a normal thing. … And that is something I don’t take lightly,” Harvey said.
Now, Harvey will round out her season with two more World Cups, the Pan Am Championships in June and the world championships in July.
The first stop on that circuit is a World Cup in Lima beginning Friday.
And Harvey’s next mission is to capture a team medal alongside her younger teammates, all teenagers.
It appears close – the squad was one point away from bronze at the Olympics and placed fourth in Cairo.
When Harvey returned from that World Cup, the hardware that seemingly unlocked her run of success was found in an unusual place — stuffed in a sock on her bathroom counter.
“Oh my God,” Harvey responded when asked for the Olympic bronze medal’s whereabouts.
“I had to bring it somewhere for an event and then I had to leave the next day to go to Cairo. So I didn’t have time to do anything with it. No disrespect to the medal or whatever, but I’ll put it back. I have an area where I keep trophies and medals and stuff.”
It’s an area that’s suddenly filling up quite quickly.
