Canadian fencers ready to attack at 2017 World Championships
En garde, Canada!
The country’s top fencers are in Leipzig, Germany for the 2017 FIE World Championships, which run July 19-26. After the excitement that was created at Rio 2016, the team is ready for more as they try to advance their position on the world stage.
Here’s a quick peek at who’s on the squad.
Women’s Foil
Eleanor Harvey
Alanna Goldie
Kelleigh Ryan
Ariane Bilodeau
Eleanor Harvey of Canada celebrates after defeating Arianna Errigo of Italy in a women’s individual foil event at the 2016 Rio Olympics.(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Harvey surprised many on the international fencing scene at Rio 2016. In her Olympic debut, she defeated the world’s number one ranked fencer to advance to the quarterfinals of the women’s individual foil event and earned Canada’s best ever placement with her seventh place finish. Harvey, now ranked eighth in the world, was a two-time silver medallist at the world junior championships in 2014 and 2015. At the 2015 Pan Am Games she took home gold in team foil event, where she scored the final, winning touch to give Canada the victory.
RELATED: Harvey upsets world number one, achieves Canadian fencing best ever
Alanna Goldie during her bronze medal winning game in the women’s individual foil at the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Goldie and Ryan were also members of that Pan Am Games gold medal-winning team with Harvey. Goldie also went home with a bronze medal in the women’s individual foil event. The Harvey-Goldie-Ryan trio recently won team foil silver at the 2017 Pan American Championships.
Men’s Foil
Max Van Haaster
Marc-Antoine Brodeur
Alex Lim
Van Haaster made his Olympic debut at Rio 2016 after coming close to the podium at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto where he finished fifth in both the individual and team foil events.
Canada’s Maximilien van Haaster, gestures as he competes in the men’s individual foil at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. COC Photo/Mark Blinch
Women’s Epee
Leonora Mackinnon
Malinka Hoppe Montanaro
Vanessa Lacas-Warrick
Brittany Mark-Larkin
Mackinnon and Hoppe Montanaro are two names we should likely see a lot more of. The 23-year-olds both competed at the 2015 Pan Am Games. Mackinnon followed that a year later with her Olympic debut in Rio. The quartet that will compete at worlds recently won team epee silver at the 2017 Pan American Championships.
Leonora Mackinnon of Canada, right, competes with Simona Pop of Romania in the women’s individual epee event at the 2016 Rio Games. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Men’s Epee
Maxime Brinck-Croteau
Hugues Boisvert-Simard
Marc-Antoine Blais Belanger
Pascal Heidecker
Brinck-Croteau competed for Canada at the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2015 Pan Am Games. Boisvert-Simard was also part of Team Canada at Toronto 2015, where he took home bronze in the men’s individual epee. These four men all contributed to Canada’s bronze medal at the 2017 Pan American Championships.
They are from left, Dominguez, Venezuela’s Ruben Limardo with his gold medal, Canada’s Hugues Boisvert-Simard with his bronze medal, from the epee fencing competition at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
Women’s Sabre
Marissa Ponich
Gabriella Page
Pamela Brind’amour
Madison Thurgood
Page made it onto the podium at the 2015 Pan Am Games, bringing home a bronze medal in the women’s individual sabre. Ponich, who recently won individual bronze at the 2017 Pan American Championships, and Brind’amour were also members of the team that finished fifth at Toronto 2015.
Gabriella Page celebrates a win in Women’s Sabre competition at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto Canada.
Men’s Sabre
Joseph Polossifakis
Shaul Gordon
Fares Arfa
Cedric Boutet
Marc Gelinas
Polossifakis is no stranger to international podiums. He took home gold in team sabre and bronze in individual sabre from the 2011 Pan Am Games and then added silver medals in both of those events at the 2015 Pan Am Games. He made his Olympic debut at Rio 2016 and recently won individual sabre bronze at the 2017 Pan American Championships. Gordon was also a member of that silver medal-winning team at Toronto 2015. Those two men were joined by Arfa and Boutet in winning team sabre silver at the 2017 Pan American Championships.
You can find a detailed schedule of the competition and links to live results here.
Canada’s Joseph Polossifakis reacts after defeating Renzo Agresta during a men’s semifinal sabre individual fencing competition at the 2015 Pan Am Games. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
