Another Filipino has made the grade for the Paris Olympics.
But she won’t be carrying the Philippine flag but that of Ivory Coast, the African country that naturalized the 23-year-old fencer after a rift with the Philippine Fencing Association.
Esteban is fresh from competing in the final Olympic qualifier in Washington, D.C. and although she lost her second-round match she had earned points from previous qualifying meets to earn the ticket.
“I am at a loss for words. Where do I begin?” Esteban wrote on her Facebook page. “This journey is truly a testimony of God’s faithfulness. Today, I am in awe of His love for me and I am grateful He has carried me through.”
“This is for Cote d’Ivoire, the country that embraced me, believed in me, and supported me all the way, and this is for the Philippines, the country my heart will always beat proud,” said Esteban, who became the first homegrown Filipino female fencer to book an Olympic slot.
“This is not the end,” she said of her qualification.
“This is just part of the ongoing journey. There will be more days of hard work ahead, all to make sure that I won’t be satisfied with just making an appearance at the Paris Olympics but use that grand stage as a chance to compete and test myself again.”
Acknowledging her roots, Esteban swears she would be delighted to see the Philippines get represented in fencing in Paris.
“I am praying that the Philippines will be able to qualify more fencers in April,” Esteban said, referring to a wild card tournament next month that will be participated in by Asian countries that failed to directly qualify for the Olympics.
Now that her slot is secured, Esteban, an Ateneo de Manila product, will continue to work with multi-titled Italian master Andrea Magro, who helped Valentina Vezzali to six Olympic gold medals.
On the horizon for Esteban are the World Cup in Tbilisi, Georgia, a meet in Hong Kong, a Grand Prix in Shanghai, China and the African championships in June in Casablanca, Morocco, according to her mother Carol.
But before the final grind for Paris, Esteban will head back to the Philippines for a short vacation.
“I’d like to thank my parents and my entire family for their support and for those who helped to make sure the door would be always open for me to continue chasing my dreams, like POC (Philippine Olympic Committee) president Abraham Tolentino, who chose to extend a helping hand when I needed it the most,” Esteban said.
