Cover Filipina fencer Samantha Catantan qualifies for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Photo: @samctntn / Instagram; edited by Angela Nicole Guiral)
Filipina fencer Samantha Catantan qualifies for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Photo: @samctntn / Instagram; edited by Angela Nicole Guiral)
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After 32 years, a Filipino fencer graces the Olympic stage again. Read on to learn more about Samantha Catantan
No other Filipino fencer competed in the Olympics since Walter Torres’s 1992 Barcelona stint. Fast forward to 2024, and the country is in the game anew. This year, athlete Samantha “Sam” Catantan broke the drought. She won the women’s foil category in the Asia-Oceania Zonal Olympic Qualifier in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, earning her a well-deserving spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“If God brings you to it, he will bring you through it,” Catantan says. “No words can describe how grateful I am to everyone who prayed, supported, and believed in me. This is for the Philippines and the Filipinos.”
In case you missed it: Meet the 12 Filipino athletes set to compete at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics
She almost didn’t make it to the Paris 2024
After incurring a one-point penalty in the Asia-Oceania Zonal Olympic Qualifier this year, Catantan trailed 9-12 in the third and final round against Kazakhstan’s Sofiya Aktayeva. Demonstrating resilience, she bounced back by scoring four of the following five points, levelling the score at 13-13. But in her determination to score, she hurt her left knee during a lunge.
Despite the injury, Catantan resumed the match after a five-minute timeout. She earned the final point after a 14-14 tie, securing her spot in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
She made Philippine history
Fencers competing for tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympics in UAE faced a daunting challenge—the Asia-Oceania qualifier offered only one Olympic spot for each of the six individual categories. Catantan defied the odds and emerged victorious, becoming the first fencer from the Philippines to qualify for the Olympics in 32 years, following in the footsteps of Walter Torres.
Torres competed in the men’s foil event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. At 24, he won one bout in Pool One and lost five bouts, failing to qualify for the finals. He placed 53rd out of 59 participants overall.
She failed to grab the gold in 2023 due to an injury
While Catantan overcame her injury at the Asia-Oceania Zonal Olympic Qualifier, she wasn’t as fortunate in her final match at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games.
The athlete injured her knee near the end of her 15-6 semifinal win over Singapore’s Kemei Cheung. She was convinced to rest and withdraw from the finals. As a result, she settled for silver by default, forfeiting the gold medal match and the SEA Games title to Singapore’s Maxine Wong.
Related: Know more about the first-time Filipino gold medallists at the 2023 SEA Games
She was a UE Junior Warrior
In 2020, Catantan’s name made headlines when her high school varsity team, the University of the East Junior Warriors, honoured her with a fitting send-off when she won their ninth consecutive crown. In a thrilling girls’ team sabre final, she rallied past the University of Santo Tomas rep with a nail-biting 45-44 victory.
Catantan emerged as a UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) MVP, leaving a lasting legacy for the Junior Warriors programme and cementing her status as a rising star in Philippine fencing.
She’s a team captain at Penn State University
Catantan’s teammates elected her as the new captain of the Penn State women’s fencing team, entrusting her with the leadership role for the 2023–2024 season.
Despite her knee injury from the match at the Chroy Changvar Convention Center for the 2023 SEA Games, she remained dedicated to her role as captain. As a veteran team leader and a steady voice within the Penn State fencing family, Catantan’s resilience and commitment inspired her teammates.
She is gifted with numbers
The Filipina fencer balances sport and academics like a true champion. In an interview with GMA News Online, she revealed that her primary sources of stress were school finals and tournament training. However, like most student-athletes, she eventually found her groove and excelled in both areas.
Catantan is determined to continue her education after graduation. Penn State University accepted her application to enter its Master of Accounting programme, allowing her to continue fencing for the school in her final year of eligibility as a student-athlete in 2025.
Above Samantha Catantan vlog in her YouTube channel
She has a YouTube channel
Akin to a journal, Catantan’s YouTube channel, @samanthacatantan1601, offers glimpses into the daily life of the fencer. The channel showcases various aspects of her journey, from a day in her life at Penn State University to her struggles with obtaining a US Student Visa. With around 2,000 subscribers, her channel provides a personal and engaging look into her experiences on and off the fencing piste.
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Angela Nicole Regis Guiral is the assistant digital editor of Tatler Philippines. She studied journalism and has since written features that look closely at how culture, lifestyle and social impact converge, while occasionally wandering into the worlds of style and travel.
