Fencer Catantan was eliminated in the first round, but Philippine hopes are still alive with rower Delgaco advancing and the Euro gymnasts reaching three finals.

Sam Catantan has been thinking about his future long before he stepped onto the slopes at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

So despite her loss in the women’s individual foil event at Paris’s majestic Grand Palais on Sunday, Catentin is already making bigger, more demanding plans for the next phase of her career.

“To qualify (for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics), I need to compete in as many international competitions as possible and earn the necessary points,” Catantan said.

The first female fencer to represent the Philippines in 32 years defeated Brazil’s Mariana Pistoia 15-13 in her first match to advance to the round of 32 where she will face four-time Olympian and world number one Ariana Errigo of Italy.

Meanwhile, rower Joani Delgaco made Philippine history by advancing through the backdoor to the quarterfinals of the women’s single sculls.

Delgaco won the first repechage and finished in the top 24 in the world. He recorded a time of 7 minutes 55 seconds in the 2000m race at the National Olympic Maritime Stadium in France, clearly ahead of the other four runners at the finish line.

Vietnam’s Pham Thi Hue took second place in 8:00.97 and advanced to the quarterfinals along with Delgaco at 3:30pm Manila time on Tuesday. Delgaco, the first Filipina woman to compete in rowing at the Games, won all three matches in the repechage just 24 hours after missing out in the heats. Despite Catantan’s withdrawal, it was a good weekend for the Philippines in Paris, with gymnast Carlos Yulo making it into the finals in his specialties of floor exercise and vault, as well as the men’s all-around on Saturday.

The noticeably smaller Catantan tormented Eligo throughout the match, twice turning around a four-point deficit before the Italian finished off the encounter with two quick shots to secure a narrow 15-12 victory and move up to 16th place.

Tough route

Whatever the outcome, it will certainly be an achievement for Catantan, who had to thrive through a tough Olympic Asian Qualifying Tournament (OQT), to have put his sword to the test on the sport’s biggest stage.

“I would rather save up my ranking points and go (to Los Angeles) than go through the same process again,” said Catantan. The 22-year-old from Frisco, Quezon City and a gold medalist at the 2021 Southeast Asian Games (SEA) hardly had the luxury of playing in various tournaments to earn points before the OQT.

It didn’t help that Catantan suffered a devastating ACL injury in the semi-finals of last year’s SEA Games in Cambodia, forcing him to settle for the silver medal. Against Pistoia, his left knee buckled with 24 seconds left in the first round with the Brazilian leading 7-4. But Catantan never lost hope, fighting point for point, taking control with a stretch lunge to take a 14-13 lead before ending Pistoia’s challenge with another powerful thrust.

Catantan felt another sharp pain in the same knee with 20 seconds left in the second round of the fight against Errigo.

Catantan was sidelined for nearly 10 months and missed most of the events that earned Olympic qualification points, causing her ranking to plummet. The top-ranked athletes on each continent automatically qualify for the Olympics.

“If I go to Los Angeles, that’s the path I want to take,” Catantan told INQ.