Sam’s ACL injury proves a minor setback that set up a major comeback

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PHOTO: JEROME ASCANO

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Get to know the 22 Filipino athletes bound for the 2024 Paris Olympics through SPIN.ph’s pre-Games preview. Sixth of a series]

A DREAM that was once delayed didn’t turn out be a dream denied for Sam Catantan as she blazed her own trail en route to Paris.

At just 22 years old, Catantan shattered a 32-year drought to become the first Filipino fencer to qualify for the Olympics since Walter Torres in Barcelona 1992.

On paper, it may seem that it didn’t take too long for this Filipina history-maker to reach the sporting summit at such a young age.

But better believe her journey has been long and winding enough to the point where she nearly had to hit pause on her Olympic quest.

A star is born

From Recto to Pennsylvania, Catantan’s once-humble dream at age 8 has taken her beyond her wildest imagination.

The former UAAP MVP for perennial fencing titlist University of the East was bestowed with the captaincy of Penn State University’s women’s fencing team in 2023 — a golden responsibility she carried devoutly even as career-pivoting adversities struck her way.

Samantha Catantan vs Thailand SEA Games

She hit a new high in the 2021 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam where she copped the country’s first fencing gold over Singaporean fencer Maxine Wong, 14-12, in the women’s individual foil final.

Then came the tough part.

Her SEA Games gold medal defense took a turn for the worse after suffering an ACL injury in her 15-6 semifinals win over another Singaporean ace in Kemei Cheung.

In the end, gold was lost by default — falling in Wong’s hands.

Impossible is nothing

It took nearly a whole year of re-learning the fundamentals and getting to walk again before Catantan could hit play once more on her Paris bid.

And so she did.

By claiming the last Paris ticket for Asia and Oceania over Kazakhstan’s Sofiya Aktayeva by the slimmest of margins, 15-14, Catantan rose from the abyss of her once-imperiled Olympic childhood dream and is now weeks away from taking aim at the gold.