Olympic Fencing Medallist Eleanor Harvey Emotionally Reveals Why Family Sold House To Allow Her Compete

Canadian Olympic fencer Eleanor Harvey. Photo. Imago

Olympic Fencing Medallist Eleanor Harvey Emotionally Reveals Why Family Sold House To Allow Her Compete

Evans Ousuru 12:10 - 05.05.2025

Eleanor Harvey, known or her heroics in fencing, has finally broken her silence on why family sold house in order to allow her to compete.

Eleanor Harvey made history when she stepped onto the podium in Paris.

Winning bronze in individual women's foil — Canada's first Olympic fencing medal — was only the beginning.

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Since the 2024 Games, Harvey has medalled in four of the six tournaments she's competed in, and captured Canada's first World Cup gold in the process.

"I think going into the season after (the Olympics) it gave me a lot of confidence in my preparation, in the attitude I want to have in my training and in competition," Harvey told Canadian Press.

Harvey is also a Pan American Games champion and a two-time Pan American Fencing champion too. She reiterated that her performances have instilled confidence in her and her entire team.

"It gave me confidence that my team and I are good enough to beat the best in the world. And we are." 

The 30-year-old three-time Olympian remains eager to perform on her sport's biggest stages.

Harvey's mom sold her home so Harvey could afford to compete

Olympic Fencing Medallist Eleanor Harvey Reveals Why Family Sold House To Allow Her Compete
Olympic fencer Eleanor Harvey. Photo. Imago

Harvey grew up in Hamilton and fell in love with fencing as soon as she discovered it was a sport. Getting to the highest level, though, required sacrifices for both the young athlete and her family.

Her mom, Lise Graydon, sold her house so Harvey could compete around the globe. She fenced at Ohio State, competed at the Rio Olympics and the Tokyo Games, and won silver in both the individual and team foil events at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Chile.

Harvey was thrust into the international limelight in Paris when she topped Italy's Alice Volpi in the bronze-medal bout. An enduring image of the Games shows Harvey's shocked face the moment she realized she had won.

Her red-and-white Maple Leaf mask perched atop her curly red hair, the fencer's face is broken into a broad, unbelieving grin. Paris marked a shift for Harvey in how she approaches the mental side of her sport.

"I learned that I can trust myself, that I can handle situations where people are watching me, where there's a lot of pressure and stress associated with the moment," she said. "I can be strong in that situation, and I can't hyper focus on my goal."

Harvey took a brief break to visit London, England, with her mom, then travelled to Calgary to pack all her belongings in preparation for a move to Vancouver. Then it was back to training and competitions.