So far, Hamilton’s Eleanor Harvey is the only local athlete to have won a medal with a bronze in the women’s fencing individual foil event. Pictured: Olympian Eleanor Harvey. Photo Credit: Ohio State Fencing/X.
There are eight athletes from Hamilton competing at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
While some of them have already completed their events, others are still in contention for medals.
So far, Hamilton’s Eleanor Harvey is the only local athlete to have won a medal with a bronze in the women’s fencing individual foil event.
Here’s the full breakdown of Hamilton-based athletes:
ELEANOR HARVEY (HAMILTON) – FENCING
BRONZE MEDAL
Competed July 28 and Aug. 1
Local fencer Eleanor Harvey made history on Sunday, July 28, winning Canada’s first ever Olympic medal in the sport with a bronze.
Harvey was competing in the women’s individual foil event and lost her semi-final bout 15 to 9 against Lauren Scruggs from the United States but advanced to the bronze medal bout.
In the bronze medal match up Harvey won 15 to 12 against Italy’s Alice Volpi.
Previously, her best finish in the individual foil was seventh at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Harvey also competed in the women’s team foil competition on Thursday, Aug. 1, but the group of Canadian fencers lost 33 to 32 against Japan in the bronze medal match, ultimately finishing fourth.
Harvey’s athlete profile on the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) website says that when she was young, she wanted to be an Olympian in something, and a friend recommended fencing so she tried it and ended up being naturally talented.
WILL JONES (JERSEYVILLE) – SAILING
Competed July 28 to July 31
Will Jones of Jerseyville in Flamborough competed in the men’s 49er sailing competition along with crewmate Justin Barnes. The pair finished in 17th place.
HEATHER BANSLEY (WATERDOWN) – BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Competed July 27 to Aug. 3
Heather Bansley, who lives in Waterdown, made her third Olympic appearance in Paris after finishing fifth in women’s beach volleyball in both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
This year she partnered with Sophie Bukovec. The pair lost all three of their preliminary matches and were eliminated from the competition.
KIA NURSE (HAMILTON) – BASKETBALL
July 28 to Aug. 4
Canada’s women’s basketball team had a disappointing group stage and was eliminated even though they finished fourth place at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2022.
CARSON MATTERN (ANCASTER) – TRACK CYCLING
Competing Aug. 5 to Aug. 7
Carson Mattern of Ancaster will be competing in the men’s track cycling team pursuit.
Qualification was held on Monday, Aug. 5 with the first round taking place on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 1:14PM EST and medal rounds beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 12:04PM EST.
The team recently won gold at the 2023 Pan American Games, setting a competition record time of 3:53.593.
ALENA SHARP (HAMILTON) – GOLF
Competing Aug. 7 to Aug. 10
Alena Sharp will be competing in her third Olympics in women’s golf.
Her best Olympic finish was 30th in 2016, but she won a bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games.
She’ll play round one on Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 3 a.m. EST, with the next three rounds at the same time on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday respectively. Medals are determined on Saturday, Aug. 10.
SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER (HAMILTON) – BASKETBALL
Competing July 27 to Aug. 10
Canada’s men’s basketball team has powered through to a first-place finish in Group A, advancing to the quarter-finals with wins over Australia, Spain, and even Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Greece.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points against Greece, 16 points against Australia, and 20 points against Spain.
Canada will play France in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, August 6 at 12 p.m., semi-finals are scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 8, and both the bronze medal game and gold medal game are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 10.
Canada will hope to get a medal after winning bronze at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
JAMES HEDGCOCK (ANCASTER) – CYCLING
Aug. 5 to Aug. 11
Ancaster’s James Hedgcock will be competing in the men’s track cycling team sprint and the individual keirin competitions.
Team sprint qualifications started on Monday, Aug. 5, with medal rounds on Tuesday, Aug. 6, and the first round for men’s keirin is Saturday, Aug. 10 with medal rounds on Sunday, Aug. 11.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
