Maxine Esteban finished with a bronze medal recently to get her Olympic qualifying bid off to a strong start and raise her world ranking to a career-high 46. Her achievements, however, will count for Ivory Coast. The former top Filipino fencer in the world rankings, who recently switched nationalities because of 'a series of unfortunate events—very little of which I had any control over', boosted her hopes of booking a ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics with her third-place finish in the African Championships that hiked her qualifying points and bumped her up the world rankings.

https://sports.inquirer.net/516245/finding-a-home-in-ivory-coast-former-top-ph-fencer-begins-olympic-quest-on-strong-note

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