Top Philippine fencer Sam Catantan snared another podium finish after settling for a silver medal at the North American Cup in Virginia recently.
Catantan advanced to the finals, but bowed to Canada’s best fencer, Tokyo Olympics’ bet Eleanor Harvey, 5-15 in the final of the senior women’s foil.
With cramps creeping up on her, Catantan tried to hold her own in the final match of the tournament, which served as a selection for the American National team.
It was Catantan’s third podium finish after claiming a bronze medal in women’s foil semifinals of the 2021 Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifiers last month.
Two months ago, Catantan was an NCAA Division I bronze medalist, emerging as an MVP for Penn State University.
In reaching the finals, Catantan first put away, Sara Taffel of Metropolitan New York College,15-11, before turning back world junior silver medalist Nicole Pustil of Israel, 15-14,
In succeeding matches, Catantan stopped 11th seed Renata Chusid Gutkovskiya, 15-5, and then held off Crystal Qian, 15-13.
In the semifinals, Catantan prevailed over Allison Lee Premiere (FC New Jersey), 15-7.
Catantan is currently preparing for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics.