Maxine Esteban

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Maxine Esteban
Full nameMaxine Isabel Esteban
Born (2000-11-26) November 26, 2000 (age 23)
Sport
CountryIvory Coast (since 2023)
Former countryPhilippines (until 2023)
Training locationItaly
SportFencing
WeaponFoil
HandRight-handed
Personal coachAndrea Magro
Highest ranking37 (2022/23)
Current ranking37 (2022/23)
Medal record
Representing  Ivory Coast
African Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Cairo Individual foil
Representing the  Philippines
Tournoi Satellite
Silver medal – second place 2022 Tashkent Individual foil
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Copenhagen Individual foil
FIE Junior World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Guatemala City Individual foil
U23 European Circuit
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Brno Individual foil
Southeast Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2021 Vietnam Team foil
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Philippines Team foil
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Malaysia Individual foil

Maxine Isabel Esteban (born November 26, 2000[1][2]) is a Filipino–Ivorian fencer. She is a 2023 African bronze medalist in women's foil.[3]

Esteban represented the Philippines before transferring to the Ivory Coast as a naturalized citizen in 2022.[4] During her tenure under the Philippine flag, she became a 2017 Southeast Asian foil bronze medalist, as well as a 2019 and 2021 team foil silver medalist. She was also the country's highest-ranked fencer at 62nd in the world.[4]

At present, Esteban is globally ranked 39th, per the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime.[5]

Education[edit]

Esteban studied at the Immaculate Conception Academy in Greenhills for high school, graduating in 2018.[6] She pursued a course in management engineering at the Ateneo de Manila University.[7] She later attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated with an undergraduate degree in applied arts and science, achieving summa cum laude honors in 2023.[8]

Career[edit]

Early years[edit]

As a child, Esteban initially pursued an interest in figure skating at the ice skating rink in SM Megamall. However, due to the rink's closure and a lack of nearby alternatives, she dropped the sport and instead convinced her parents to allow her to enter a fencing club at Xavier School.[9]

Esteban then began her fencing career at age 12 by competing in local competitions.[10]

Collegiate[edit]

Esteban competed for the Ateneo Blue Eagles fencing team at the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). She was named Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player for Season 81 in 2018.[11] After dominating her matches with two gold medals, Esteban led the Ateneo Women's Fencing team to win the UAAP Season 81 overall championships breaking the 11-year reign of the University of the East.[12] In the following year, she was conferred the Moro Lorenzo Award for Excellence in Sports, as well as the Lady Eagle of the Year Awardee by her own university.[10]

Esteban last competed for the Ateneo in February 2020, where she defended her title in the women's foil individual event. The university ultimately placed third in the UAAP Season 82 fencing tournament.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all sporting events for Season 83 were cancelled.[11]

National team[edit]

Philippines[edit]

Esteban competed in women's foil and represented the Philippines until 2022. She was ranked 16th at the peak of her junior career and 62nd in the senior category, the highest ever for a Filipino fencer.[4]

At the 2018 FIE Junior World Cup in Guatemala City, she won a bronze medal.[13]

Esteban also competed at the Southeast Asian Games, having won a bronze medal in the 2017 edition for the Philippines in foil.[14] She also clinched a bronze and silver in the team foil event with teammates in the 2019 and 2021 editions respectively.[15]

She aspires to qualify for the Olympics. Her family tapped the service of Italian coach Andrea Magro in 2020 to aid her training.[16]

Esteban became the first Filipino to win a medal in a FIE satellite event when she finished as a bronze medalist at the 2021 FIE Tournoi Satellite in Copenhagen, Denmark.[citation needed] She also won the silver medal in the FIE satellite event in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.[17] She took part in the 2022 World Seniors Cup in Serbia where she finished 38th in foil.[citation needed] She also took part in the World Seniors Cup in Tauberbiscofsheim Germany where she finished 44th in foil.[citation needed] At the Asian Fencing Championship, she finished 11th in foil, the highest among the all Philippine delegation competitors.[citation needed]

Injury and federation issues[edit]

She competed at the 2022 World Fencing Championships in July but suffered a ACL and PCL injury.[10] She would be fit again by the start of 2023.[18] The injury would render her unable to participate in qualifiers for both international and national events costing her a place in the Philippine national team.[19]

This led to her switching sporting nationality for reasons that would be publicly disclosed after the move was complete. She felt disrespected by the Philippine federation as she tried to kept competing for the Philippines for as long as "humanly possible".[19][20][21]

The federation initially allowed her to skip qualifiers due to her injury upon her request, which then would have her retaining her place on the national team. However, she was removed from the national team on the pretext of not participating in the qualifiers. Esteban subsequently alleged double standards, with other Filipino fencers who have skipped the qualifiers still retaining their respective spots.[22]

The Philippine Fencing Association would released a statement in April 2024 reasoning that it was obliged to send only Samantha Catantan to the qualifiers out of merit (results since 2017) and noted the waiver it has given to Esteban for her sporting nationality change.[23] Esteban would insist that she was unjustly removed from the national team but has urged sadness that her former teammate's name was dragged into the controversy.[24]

Ivory Coast[edit]

Esteban was given Ivorian citizenship through naturalization. In May 2023, she switched her sporting nationality to be able to represent Ivory Coast internationally. The move was approved by the Philippine Fencing Association which waived the 3-year waiting period requirement allowing her to compete for the African nation immediately.[4] Her move was supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee.[25]

Her first podium finish for the West African country was at the 2023 African Fencing Championships in Cairo, Egypt where she clinched a bronze medal in foil.[3] She would eventually qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris for her new country.[26]

Personal life[edit]

Esteban is a Filipino of Chinese descent. She also plays the violin and paints as hobbies outside of fencing.[9]

Prior to her sporting nationality change, she had already been holding clinics for fencers in Cote d’Ivoire,[4] and her family has long-standing ties with the country.[27]

Medal record[edit]

National team[edit]

For the Philippines[edit]

FIE Tournoi Satellite[edit]
Year Location Event Position
2021-9-26 Uzbekistan Tashkent, Uzbekistan Individual Women's Foil 2nd[17]
FIE Junior World Cup[edit]
Year Location Event Position
2018 Guatemala Guatemala City, Guatemala Individual Women's Foil 3rd[13]
Southeast Asian Games[edit]
Year Location Event Position
2017 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Individual Women's Foil 3rd[14]
2019 Philippines Pasay, Philippines Team Women's Foil 2nd
2021 Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam Team Women's Foil 2nd

For Ivory Coast[edit]

African Fencing Championship[edit]
Year Location Event Position
2023 Egypt Cairo, Egypt Individual Women's Foil 3rd

College[edit]

UAAP Championship[edit]

All results have been for the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Year Season Event Position
2018–19 Season 81 Individual Women's Foil 1st[28]
Individual Women's Sabre 1st[28]
Team Women's Foil 1st[28]
2019–20 Season 82 Individual Women's Foil 1st[29]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "ESTEBAN MAXINE ISABEL". Fédération Internationale d'Escrime. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "Fencer Maxine Esteban launches another fundraiser, this time for family e-learning kits". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. November 25, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2023. She celebrates her 20th birthday on November 26.
  3. ^ a b Ochoa, Francis T. J. (June 27, 2023). "Finding a home in Ivory Coast, former top PH fencer begins Olympic quest on strong note". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e Navarro, June (May 31, 2023). "Top PH fencer Maxine Esteban transfers to Ivory Coast". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  5. ^ "Maxine Isabel Estaban FIE Profile". International Fencing Federation. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  6. ^ "Maxine Esteban of class 2018 received Bronze medal in the Championnat de France M20, 2018". Immaculate Conception Academy. May 29, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  7. ^ "Maxine Esteban continues to give back while finishing nine online Ivy League courses". Tiebreaker Times. April 30, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  8. ^ "Fencer Maxine Esteban petmalu; gumradweyt Summa Cum Laude". NewsKo (in Filipino). May 25, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Tanco, Jodie (June 17, 2021). "Maxine Esteban: the Chinoy fencing prodigy who wants to do it all". Chinoy TV. WCube Solutions Inc.. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Caniza, Annika (January 20, 2023). "Never Counted Out: Maxine Esteban Faces Any Challenge Head-On". The Game. One Mega Group Inc. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Fencer Esteban remains upbeat". People's Tonight. Journal Online. April 16, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  12. ^ Valderrama, Aeron Paul (November 26, 2018). "New Phenom: Maxine Esteban, Ateneo end UE's 11-year reign". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Esteban, wagi ng bronze sa World Cup" [Esteban, won a bronze in World Cup]. Balita (in Filipino). November 21, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Bancod, Rey (August 13, 2019). "We don't make promises in fencing – Gomez". Tempo. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  15. ^ Valderrama, Aeron Paul (May 17, 2022). "SEA Games: Catantan leads women's foil team to silver". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  16. ^ Dioquino, Delfin (December 3, 2022). "Guided by esteemed coach, fencer Maxine Esteban keen on fulfilling Olympic dream". Rappler. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Reyes, Kate (September 27, 2021). "Maxine Esteban bags silver in FIE senior satellite tilt in Uzbekistan". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  18. ^ "Maxine Esteban back on the road to chase Olympic dream after ACL injury". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. January 8, 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Esteban says PFA move was 'disrespectful'". The Philippine Star. November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  20. ^ Li, Matthew (June 27, 2023). "Maxine Esteban on switching federations: 'It was about self-respect'". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  21. ^ Morales, Luisa (June 27, 2023). "Maxine Esteban says nationality switch all about regaining 'self-respect'". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  22. ^ Demigillo, Kiko (November 25, 2023). "'Sobra akong nabastos': Maxine Esteban explains final straw in decision to transfer to Ivory Coast". One Sports. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  23. ^ Matel, Philip (April 4, 2024). "Maxine Esteban issues 'adversely affected' national team, says PH fencing". Rappler. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  24. ^ Payo, Jasmine (April 6, 2024). "Maxine Esteban saddened Sam Catantan dragged into PH fencing issue". Rappler. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  25. ^ Micaller, Bea (June 1, 2023). "POC chief supports fencer Maxine Esteban's decision to switch nationalities, represent Ivory Coast". GMA News. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  26. ^ "Fencing's Esteban now an Ivorian Olympian". The Philippine Star. March 17, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  27. ^ Payo, Jasmine (November 28, 2023). "Why the nationality switch? Maxine Esteban calls out 'unfair' PH fencing". Rappler. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  28. ^ a b c "UAAP: Ateneo snags women's fencing crown; UE defends men's title". Rappler. November 26, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  29. ^ "Maxine Esteban shines as Ateneo opens UAAP Fencing back-to-back bid". Tiebreaker Times. February 11, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
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