PARIS – In a dramatic match in which her opponent fell to her knees after the final blow, Canadian fencer Eleanor Harvey advanced to the semifinals of the women's individual foil at the Paris Olympics.
Harvey narrowly beat Italy's Martina Favaretto 15-14 on Sunday, staging a fierce comeback after trailing 10-4 midway through the second quarter.
She will face American Lauren Scruggs in the semi-finals on Sunday night, in the hunt for a possible medal for Canada.
The 19-year-old left-handed fencer from Hamilton, Ont., won silver in both the individual and team foil events at her third Pan American Games last year in Santiago, Chile.
Canadian fencers, rarely considered Olympic medal contenders, are making waves in Paris.
On Saturday, Fares Arfa of Laval, Que., upset three-time defending Olympic champion Aron Szilagyi of Hungary in the men's sabre before falling narrowly to eventual gold medallist Oh Sang-uk of South Korea in the quarterfinals of the final. It was the best Olympic result by a Canadian fencer until Eleanor Harvey surpassed him a day later.
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Elsewhere, the spy drone scandal tainting the Canadian women's soccer team continued to unfold. The federal government is withholding some funds from Canada Soccer after three officials were suspended and the organization was fined more than $300,000.
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FIFA has stripped the women's team of six points after a staff member was caught using a drone to spy on New Zealand's training sessions ahead of the start of the competition.
Sports Minister Carla Qualtrough and Parisian fans have called the scandal a disgrace for athletes.
Later Sunday, Canadian swimmer Mary-Sophie Harvey will compete in the semifinals of the women's 200-metre freestyle.
Harvey, 24, of Quebec, 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 postponed by a day due to rain, Canadian players got off to a sunny start on Sunday.
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Bianca Andreescu won two straight sets.
Montrealer Auger-Aliassime, 23, beat American Marcos Girón 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the men's singles.
In the first round of the women's singles, Andreescu, 24, beat 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.
Although the tennis matches are taking place, the rain that marked the start of the Paris Olympics remains a concern even though the weather has improved.
The triathletes were due to test the waters of the Seine on Sunday before their events on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But while Paris officials say they are confident the Seine will be clean enough for triathletes to swim next week, they have cancelled the test event due to concerns about water quality due to rain.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2024.
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