MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-Ivorian fencer Maxine Esteban vies in a final Olympic-qualifying tournament in Washington DC on March 15, looking to officially book a ticket to the Paris Games.
Esteban, who switched federations after being controversially dropped by the Philippine Fencing Association, leads the race for direct qualification spot for the African continental zone.
“I will continue to work hard and hopefully take back my dream that people tried to take away from me,” said Esteban, an eight-time Philippine champion and multi-World Cup medalist, who is looking to be the first female Filipino fencer to qualify for the Olympics.
A strong showing in the Washington qualifier would officially hand Esteban an Olympic berth outright without her having to go through a wild card tournament, which is reserved for countries with no fencers directly qualifying in the sport yet