Filipina fencer Sam Catantan ends her fencing journey in Paris, but not without pushing her higher-ranked foes to the limit.
Filipina fencer Sam Catantan bowed out of the Paris Olympics after dropping her bout in the women’s foil individual table of 32 at the Grand Palais on Sunday.
Catantan’s Paris journey ended at the hands of World No. 2 Arianna Errigo from Italy, who used her decades-worth experience to beat the Filipina by a mere three points, 15-12. Notably, the Filipina had come into the bout hobbled, suffering a left knee injury in her Round of 64 match an hour ago.
Still, Catantan proved to be a thorn in Errigo’s side. Falling to a 4-1 hole in the first period, the Filipina would respond accordingly, scoring three straight hits to level the contest.
That proved to be the tone of Sunday’s bout. Every time Errigo pulled away, Sam Catantan would come swinging back in an attempt to level the contest with her veteran foe.
The 22-year-old came close to completing her comeback. Trailing 13-9 to enter the third period, Catantan would score another trio of last-minute hits to produce a 14-12 endgame.
Even while Errigo managed to advance, Sam’s performance was nothing short of inspiring. Despite fencing on one good knee, she still managed to scare one of the world’s best on a grand sporting stage.
Round of 64 upset
An hour before her Round of 32 bout, Sam Catantan had also pulled off an upset over Brazil’s Marianna Pistoia to book her bout against Errigo.
After a slow start against the Brazilian, Catantan’s grit was on full display after her left knee buckled midway through the first period. Nursing an injury, Catantan continued to go toe-to-toe with the World No. 66 women’s foil fencer once the second period started.
Despite falling into a 10-8 deficit late in the period, the 22-year-old would score crucial hits against Pistoia to carve out her 15-13 upset.
Besides her memorable showings at the Grand Palais, Sam Catantan was also the first Filipino fencer to make the Olympics in 32 years. That, alongside Sunday’s showings, is a clear indicator of the bright potential the 22-year-old fencer holds.
Banner Image from the UAE Fencing Federation.
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