By MARK REY MONTEJO
Olympic fencer Maxine Esteban impressed anew by winning a silver medal in the 2026 African Fencing Championships in Abidjan, Ivory Coast recently.
After a fine start, the 25-year-old Filipino-Ivorian struggled, leading to her heart-breaking 14-15 loss to much younger Egyptian foe in Sara Amr Hossny in the women’s individual foil event of the four-day continental meet.
“Today ended in a heartbreaking 15–14 loss, and it definitely hurts more than I can put into words,” said the top-seeded Esteban said. “But despite the disappointment, I want to stay positive, grateful, and happy for the opportunity to compete and continue improving.”
“Thank you to my coaches who helped me along the way. Thank you will never be enough but I am incredibly grateful,” she added.
Prior to her final defeat, Esteban, who represented Ivory Coast in the 2024 Paris Olympics as a naturalized citizen, earned an early bye before dominating Lojain Khaled of Egypt, 15-7, in the quarterfinals.
Esteban, a right-handed fencer who formerly attended University of Pennsylvania and Ateneo, then turned back Yasmine Soussi of Tunisia, who shared the bronze honor with Egyptian Noha Hany, via a 15-9 semis triumph.
Currently No. 32 in the women’s foil list of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), Esteban is looking forward to boosting her campaign on African soil as well on the global stage as she guns for her second Olympic stint in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Before donning the Ivory Coast colors, Esteban was one of the top fencers in the country.
