PARIS – No matter what happens to her Olympic debut, Filipino-Ivorian Maxine Esteban will remain grateful to all those who inspired and supported her through thick and thin.

A former standout of Ateneo in the UAAP, Esteban once dreamed of winning a medal in the world’s biggest sports stage. 

While she is known to be resilient and courageous, Esteban is also a very realistic person.

“Definitely, winning a medal is the ultimate goal, but even if that becomes out of reach, I am hoping to at least continue building on my world ranking so I can make the most out of the experience here in Paris,” said Esteban after knowing that she will be pitted against local bet and Tokyo Games silver medalist Pauline Ranvier.

Both Esteban and Team Philippines fencer Sam Catantan begin their Paris journey on Sunday, July 28, in the women’s foil competitions. 

She qualified directly to the quadrennial meet after emerging as the highest-ranked fencer in the African zone based on the FIE world rankings.

For the uninitiated, Esteban switched federations after she was taken out of the national team by the Philippine Fencing Association.

But she is now ranked No. 27 in the world, the highest for a homegrown Filipino female foil fencer. 

While 13th-seeded Ranvier is the sentimental favorite, Esteban is hoping that all her sacrifices and hard work under Olympic gold coach Andrea Magro would yield positive results.

“I’ve always said that the Paris Olympics as a goal was never meant to be the final destination. It is a major part of my fencing journey and I hope to accomplish more through hard work so I can inspire young fencers in both Ivory Coast and the Philippines,” Esteban said.