Fierce comeback pushes Canadian fencer Eleanor Harvey into Olympic semi-final

PARIS — In a dramatic match that saw her opponent drop to her knees after the final blow, Canadian fencer Eleanor Harvey advanced to the semifinals of the women’s individual foil event at the Paris Olympics.

Harvey beat Italy’s Martina Favaretto 15-14 on Sunday, mounting a fierce comeback after trailing 10-4 midway through the second frame.

She will face American Lauren Scruggs in the semifinals on Sunday night, chasing a possible medal for Canada.

The 29-year-old left-handed fencer from Hamilton, Ont., was a silver medalist in both the individual and team events at her third Pan American Games last year in Santiago, Chile.

Canadian fencers, rarely seen as Olympic medal contenders, are making waves in Paris.

On Saturday, Fares Arfa of Laval, Que., stunned three-time Olympic champion Aron Szilagyi of Hungary in the men’s saber competition before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual gold medalist Oh Sang-uk of South Korea. It was the best Olympic result by a Canadian fencer until Eleanor Harvey surpassed it a day later.

Elsewhere, the drone spying scandal that has tarnished the Canadian soccer team continued to unfold. The federal government is withholding some of the funds from Soccer Canada after three officials were suspended and the organization was fined more than $300,000.

FIFA has stripped the women’s team of six points after an employee was caught using a drone to spy on the New Zealand team training before the start of the competition.

Sports Minister Carla Qualtrough, as well as fans in Paris, are calling the scandal an embarrassment for athletes.

Later on Sunday, Canadian swimmer Mary-Sophie Harvey will compete in the women’s 200m freestyle semi-finals.

Harvey, 24, of Quebec City, narrowly beat Australian star Ariarne Titmus in her heat to finish second overall in the round.

Canada’s Blake Tierney will compete in the semi-finals of the men’s 100m backstroke after finishing fifth in his heat.

After most of Saturday’s tennis matches were rescheduled by a day due to rain, Canada’s players got off to a sunny start on Sunday.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Bianca Andreescu scored a pair of wins in straight sets.

Montrealer Auger-Aliassime, 23, defeated American Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the men’s singles competition.

In the first round of women’s singles, 24-year-old Andreescu defeated Denmark’s Clara Tauson 6-2, 6-3.

Andreescu, of Mississauga, Ont., is competing in her first Olympics after injuries forced her to withdraw from the Tokyo Games, while Auger-Aliassime made her Olympic debut in Tokyo.

The tennis matches may be underway, but the rain that marked the start of the Paris Olympics is still a cause for concern, even if the weather has improved.

Heavy rain has caused a bacteria build-up in the River Seine, but officials remain confident triathletes will be able to swim the famous waterway during next week’s events.

The triathletes were to test the waters on Sunday before their events on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, despite their confidence, officials in Paris canceled the swim test due to water quality issues due to rain.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press