EASL: Dragonflies becomes 2nd team to qualify for Final Four Spot
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Breaking the 32-year drought: Fencer Samantha Catantan to helm the Philippine flag in Paris Games
Fate definitely smiled on Samantha Catantan as she snapped the 32-year longing for a Filipino fencer in the Olympic Games after emerging triumphant in the women’s foil event of the Asia-Oceania Zonal Olympic Qualifiers 2024 in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates last April.
The 22-year-old seized her Paris berth after defeating Kazakhstan’s Sofiya Aktayeva in a dramatic final match that saw the Filipina overcome a late deficit and a medical break to treat a knee injury.
Tied at 13-all, Catantan took an injury timeout and was visibly limping when she returned to action. Aktaveya forced a final deadlock at 14, before Catantan seized the final point.
PHOTO COURTEST: TATLER ASIA
“It was impossible for me to make the Olympics,” Catantan said in an interview with Vogue Philippines.
“With the injury and the little time left, I was kind of hopeless this year. But at the same time, I wanted to fence more and I wanted to represent the Philippines in the Olympics,” she added.
Fencers competing for tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympics in UAE faced a daunting challenge as the Asia-Oceania qualifier offered only one Olympic sport for each of the six individual categories.
The Penn State standout defied the odds and emerged victorious, becoming the first fencer from the Philippines to qualify for the Olympics since Walter Torres.
Torres competed in men’s foil in the 1992 Barcelona stint.
Not only has she delivered an end to a 32-year drought of fencing representative for a nation hungry for Olympic recognition, Catantan is also the first Filipina fencer to helm the Philippine flag at the Olympics.
Catantan will flèche through her opponents to Olympic splendor as she begins her campaign on July 28.
