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Harvey, Arfa Outstanding at 2024 Olympic Games
7/28/2024 6:16:00 PM | Fencing
Harvey claims women's foil bronze, Arfa finishes eighth in men's sabre
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Two alumni of the Ohio State fencing program made their mark through the first two days of fencing at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Saturday, Fares Arfa placed eighth in men's sabre, the highest finish in Canadian men's fencing history. Sunday, Eleanor Harvey reached the medal round and won bronze, the first individual medal in Ohio State fencing and Canadian fencing history.Â
Arfa, a member of the Buckeye squad from 2014-17, is making his Olympic debut. He started his day with an upset of three-time defending Olympic champion Aron Szilagi of Hungary in the Table of 32, 15-8. In the next round he topped France's Apithy by the same score. Arfa was clipped by Oh Sang-Uk, the eventual gold medalist from South Korea, 15-13, in the quarterfinals.
Harvey, who competed for Ohio State from 2014-17, is in her third Games. Her previous individual best was a seventh-place finish in 2016 and she also helped Canada to a fifth-place finish in the team event in the 2020 Games. In her first bout in Paris, Harvey was a 12-8 winner over Yuting Wang of China. In the Table of 16, Harvey topped Poland's Julia Walczyk-Klimaszyk, 15-6. Against Italy's Martina Favaretto in the quarterfinals, Harvey was down 10-4 but rallied back and won 15-14 to advance. Harvey dropped her bout to Lauren Scruggs of the United States in the semifinals, 15-9. In the bronze medal match, Harvey jumped out to a 9-4 lead through two periods against Italy's Alice Volpi. Volpi was able to pull even at 10-all, but Harvey won the next three points for a 13-10 advantage and closed out a 15-12 victory to clinch the bronze. Â
Arfa will be part of the men's sabre team competition Wednesday. Harvey and Canada's fifth-ranked women's foil squad will be in the team competition Thursday. Buckeye Maximilien Chastanet is an alternate for the French foil team and could compete next Sunday.
Arfa, a member of the Buckeye squad from 2014-17, is making his Olympic debut. He started his day with an upset of three-time defending Olympic champion Aron Szilagi of Hungary in the Table of 32, 15-8. In the next round he topped France's Apithy by the same score. Arfa was clipped by Oh Sang-Uk, the eventual gold medalist from South Korea, 15-13, in the quarterfinals.
Harvey, who competed for Ohio State from 2014-17, is in her third Games. Her previous individual best was a seventh-place finish in 2016 and she also helped Canada to a fifth-place finish in the team event in the 2020 Games. In her first bout in Paris, Harvey was a 12-8 winner over Yuting Wang of China. In the Table of 16, Harvey topped Poland's Julia Walczyk-Klimaszyk, 15-6. Against Italy's Martina Favaretto in the quarterfinals, Harvey was down 10-4 but rallied back and won 15-14 to advance. Harvey dropped her bout to Lauren Scruggs of the United States in the semifinals, 15-9. In the bronze medal match, Harvey jumped out to a 9-4 lead through two periods against Italy's Alice Volpi. Volpi was able to pull even at 10-all, but Harvey won the next three points for a 13-10 advantage and closed out a 15-12 victory to clinch the bronze. Â
Arfa will be part of the men's sabre team competition Wednesday. Harvey and Canada's fifth-ranked women's foil squad will be in the team competition Thursday. Buckeye Maximilien Chastanet is an alternate for the French foil team and could compete next Sunday.
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