Fil-Ivorian Maxine Esteban clinches silver in African Championships

July 1 ------ Philippine-born Ivorian fencer Maxine Esteban recently clinched the silver medal in the women’s individual foil category of the 23rd African Fencing Championships in Lagos, Nigeria. It was a back-to-back first runner-up finishes for Esteban, who also claimed the silver at the 22nd edition of the competition.

This was Esteban's first competition after an eight-month hiatus due to a nagging back injury, marking her triumphant return to action. “This medal means everything—it’s proof that patience and recovery pay off,” Esteban said as she reflected on her feat.

In the quarterfinals of the African Championships, she emerged victorious against Egypt’s Jana Ehab in a hard-fought duel, 15-12. In the semifinals, the 24-year-old Esteban ousted Egypt No. 2 Malak Hamza, 15-8, to book a final showdown against fellow 2024 Paris Olympian Sara Hossny Esteban settled for silver after a 15-8 defeat in the battle for the crown.

Before this, She last competed at the Paris Games for Côte d'Ivoire, where she finished with a final rank of 21 before taking time off to recover from a nagging back injury. Next up for the former UAAP Season 81 Rookie of the Year-Most Valuable Player out of Ateneo de Manila University is the 2025 World Championship in Tbilisi, Georgia, next month, before coming back to the Philippines for a homecoming and a fencing outreach program for kids.

The abovementioned outreach program will be supported by sponsors including Rebisco Extreme.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com