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Maxine Esteban: [T]his is for the Philippines, the country my heart will always beat proud. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Ivorian by paper but a true-blue Filipino at heart, Maxine Esteban is officially headed to the Olympics in Paris later this year.

Forced to embrace a different nationality after troubles with the local fencing federation went unresolved, Esteban clinched the lone singles spot for the African continent in women’s foil, becoming, in turn, the first homegrown Filipino woman fencer to ever clinch a Summer Games berth.

“I am at a loss for words. Where do I begin?” Esteban wrote on her Facebook page. “This journey is truly a testimony of God’s faithfulness. Today, I am in awe of His love for me and I am grateful He has carried me through.”

Esteban will travel to the glitzy fashion capital of the world after taking the much tougher route, one she was forced into after differences with the Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) had her taking her brilliant act to Ivory Coast as a naturalized citizen.

“This is for Cote d’Ivoire, the country that embraced me, believed in me, and supported me all the way, and this is for the Philippines, the country my heart will always beat proud,” Esteban said.

Esteban being naturalized by Ivory Coast opens the chance for two homegrown Filipinos competing in Paris, and the eight-time national champion hopes the Philippines will indeed take advantage.

READ: Maxine Esteban nears Olympic dream

“I am praying that the Philippines will be able to qualify more fencers in April,” Esteban said.

“This is not the end,” she said of her qualification. “This is just part of the ongoing journey. There will be more days of hard work ahead, all to make sure that I won’t be satisfied with just making an appearance at the Paris Olympics but use that grand stage as a chance to compete and test myself again.”

She also thanked Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Bambol Tolentino, who endorsed Esteban to the International Olympic Committee to waive the required three-year residency rule when Esteban turned Ivorian last year.

“I’d like to thank my parents and my entire family for their support and those who helped to make sure the door would be always open for me to continue chasing my dreams, like POC president Abraham Tolentino, who chose to extend a helping hand when I needed it the most,” Esteban said.

Esteban’s differences with the PFA started in 2022 when she got injured playing for the Philippines in the fencing World Cup.

Recovering from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) operation, Esteban, then the highest ranking Filipino in the world, asked to be excused from the local qualifiers. She was granted that reprieve but was later cut from the national squad.

While looking for an explanation, an offer came from Ivory Coast for naturalization. Esteban’s family has socioeconomic relations with the African nation and the fencer has held clinics for young kids there.

And by all accounts, Maxine is their gain, and the Philippines’ loss. INQ