Fil-Ivorian fencer Maxine Esteban won’t forget the time when she was winning medals for the Philippines before she decided to pursue a different path.
“I guess sometimes, life just takes you on a different path than you had initially planned. I will tell my story someday, that much I can guarantee. There is so much to learn from my experience, every heartache and frustration I had to endure so that the things I went through never happen to any Filipino athlete again—especially those who dream of flying the Philippine flag on sports’ grandest stage,” said Esteban.
Esteban won’t forget her contributions as a Filipina fencer, having been a bronze medalist in the FIE Junior World Cup 2018 and in the Senior Satellite World Cup 2018 and her silver medal finish in the Senior Satellite World Cup, 2021.
She also got a bronze medal in European U23 in 2022, aside from being an eight-time national champion, a four-time Southeast Asian Games medalist, and a four-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines champion while a student-athlete with Ateneo de Manila.
“I have fought long and hard for our country, encountering failures along the way. But I have also savored the thrill of winning for our flag. I remember being the only Filipino to win a medal in the Junior World Cup, back when I also was ranked 16th among juniors in the world, and also being the only Filipino to medal twice in the Senior Satellite World Cup,” said Esteban.
Early this year, Esteban was cut from the Philippine national team to the 32nd Southeast Asian Games while she was recovering from the injury she sustained while competing in Egypt last year.
The decision may not have gone well with Esteban, who went on with the process of switching nationalities while recovering from her injury.
“Sometimes, we must give ourselves enough respect to walk away from something that doesn’t value our worth. I want everyone to know that I did everything humanely possible to fulfill this long-time dream with the Filipino flag sewn on my uniform. But a series of unfortunate events—very little of which I had any control over—forced me to chase my dream in a distant, yet familiar land,” wrote Esteban.