Samantha Kyle Catantan, the lone representative of the Philippines in fencing, will kick off her campaign on Sunday (Manila time) against Mariana Pistoia of Brazil in the table of 64 direct elimination (DE) at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.
Catantan is ranked No. 33 following Thursday’s draw, while Pistoia is ranked No. 32 out of 34 fencers. The winner of the Catantan-Pistoia match will face the top-seeded Arianna Errigo of Italy, and the victor of the Jelinska-Zakarani bout will take on the No. 2 seed and defending champion, Lee Kiefer of the United States.
Catantan is prepared for the Paris Olympics after undergoing rigorous training with the national men’s team and top male fencers from various countries. The extensive skills and knowledge she has gained in the months leading up to her debut will be crucial as she steps onto the piste.
“That’s why I went home, to train with the national men’s team. Their skills and knowledge have helped me improve,” said Catantan, who sparred with the national squad last month.
Catantan also honed her abilities by training with male fencers in Venice, Italy, for three weeks. She was joined by Matteo Zennaro, the Penn State University fencing team foil coach, who is originally from Italy and organized the training camp after Catantan qualified for the Olympics last April.
Following her training in Venice, Catantan and coach Amat Canlas attended the Metz training camp to further refine her techniques.
In another matchup, Martyna Jelinska of Poland (No. 31) will face Youssra Zakarani of Morocco (No. 34). The winners of these matches will advance to the round of 32 in the DE.
Kiefer, a Fil-American fencer with roots in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, is the defending champion, having won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by defeating Russian champion Inna Deriglazova 15-13 in the finals.
Former Philippine team member Maxine Esteban, now a naturalized fencer for Ivory Coast, is also competing. Esteban is ranked No. 20 and will face No. 13 Pauline Ranvier of France. The winner of this bout will take on No. 4 Martina Favaretto of Italy in the round of 16.
