Filipino-Ivorian fencer Maxine Esteban is set to represent the Ivory Coast in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Esteban, a women’s foil ace, announced the development on social media Saturday evening as she fulfilled her dream of competing in the biggest sporting event in the world.
“The significance of the Olympic stage, for an OLY, is not the event. It is what it symbolizes… unwavering passion and discipline. May I inspire those who dream and have at one point almost given up, to persist amidst storms and rough waters,” Esteban said.
“This is for Cote d’Ivoire, the country that embraced me, believed in me, and supported me all the way, and for the Philippines, the country my heart will always beat proud.”