Samantha Catantan made a rousing debut with a come-from-behind 15-13 win over Brazil’s Mariana Pistoia in the Round of 64 at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in the women’s individual foil fencing event.
The Penn State University student-athlete pulled off the impossible on Sunday at the Bercy Arena, overcoming a 4-7 deficit and an injury scare in the first round.
With this win, Catantan advanced to the Round of 32 to face the top seed, Arianna Errigo of Italy, later in the day.
Catantan was backtracking under Pistoia’s attack when she felt discomfort in her left knee, the same knee she recently had surgery on after her SEA Games injury.
Nonetheless, she found her rhythm and counter-attacked to take a 9-8 lead before aggressively securing the last two points of the bout.
This is the first win by a Filipino fencer in the Olympics in a direct elimination round, as 1992 Barcelona Olympian Walter Torres ended his campaign in the Round of Pools.
