As Calgary fencer Eleanor Harvey won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in the women’s individual foil on Sunday — a first for Canada in fencing — members of the local fencing community joined in the celebrations, calling it a pivotal moment in the history of the sport.
“The only word that comes to mind is historic. It was amazing. She did a very good job,” said Jeremy Hill, head coach and founder of Fencing Calgary in an interview with the Calgary Eyeopener.
Hill, who watched the bout with other athletes and coaches, called the victory “significant and exciting.”
The fencing coach was a part of the Canadian national fencing team in the 1990s and believes the medal win may lead to positive outcomes for the sport in the city.
“We know that people watch the Olympics and we don’t always get a ton of coverage in our sport here in Canada, particularly in Western Canada,” he said. “But we’re really happy that people see Eleanor’s result and are hopefully inspired by it and are maybe interested in trying out something new.”
Hill, who has seen Harvey compete and is acquainted with her coaches, acknowledged that succeeding in the sport is no easy feat and it took Harvey “many, many years of hard work.”
“It takes everything that Eleanor really represented here. It takes a lot of perseverance and a lot of focus, a lot of hard work,” he said.
“These are things that fencing brings to all participants at all levels. But she is definitely embodying that with her result.”
LISTEN | Fencing coach Jeremy Hill talks about the sport:
Calgary Eyeopener7:36Fencing medal
We connect with a former Canadian national team fencer about our country’s first-ever Olympic fencing medal win in Paris.
According to the coach, fencing can look easy but is a lot trickier than it seems.
For instance, the sport tends to be quite technical, strategy-focused and physically demanding, requiring athletes to spend lots of time training with their coaches and other team members.
“It also takes a lot of strategy and that’s one of the cool elements of the game. And you kind of have to put all of those three things together in one place at one time,” Hill said.
“People often compare fencing to chess combined with the 100-metre dash. She (Harvey) kind of did the best of both worlds. She definitely had a great strategy going into the match, you can tell, and she stuck to it.”
This sentiment was echoed by Vadim Demendeev, who is the co-founder of the Fencing Academy of Calgary.
“It’s a game of chess with your body. So it’s a physical chess. So it’s a lot of strategy … it is like a distance concentration. Everything comes together in this sport.”
Focusing on inclusivity
Demendeev, who has been coaching for more than two decades, thinks the sport is inclusive and can present a learning opportunity for participants of all ages.
He remembers meeting an aspiring fencer in her 60s who was keen on picking up the sport.
“She asked me, ‘Can I join your club and join the fencing?’ And [I] said, yes, of course you can.”
Demendeev is optimistic about the sport’s future, particularly after Harvey’s momentous win, and hopes to see fencing become a part of school sports across the country.
Inspiring others
Jasmine Yun is a 14-year-old fencer who specializes in épée and has been practising the sport for three years.
Yun comes from a family of fencers and was introduced to the sport by her dad.
Watching Harvey’s Olympic win was a memorable experience for her — she has fenced with Harvey and practised exercises together.
“I absolutely loved it. I’m not a foil fencer, so some of that I could not understand. But I was just really excited to see someone that I knew like, win something, especially that high in ranking,” Yun said.
Alec McCaslin, 13, is also an épée fencer. He has been learning the sport and has participated in national competitions.
He said Harvey’s Olympic performance was impressive.
“If you’re watching it and you’ve never seen fencing before, like, ‘Oh, I could do that.’ But as someone who’s done it for like five years … that is like incredibly difficult,” McCaslin said.
Hill said Harvey’s win may encourage more people to give fencing a shot.
“The community is really, really excited about her result. We’re excited about the fact that more people are seeing fencing and hopefully coming out and trying … a new and engaging sport,” he said.