A FIT-AGAIN Maxine Esteban is starting the new year with a backbreaking schedule of international events that she hopes would culminate with her holding a dream ticket to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
That would be a major feat in itself, considering the odds.
Esteban, 21, is returning to top-level competition just six months after suffering an ACL injury while representing the Philippines at the World Championship in Cairo, Egypt in July 2022.
READ: Fencer Maxine Esteban finishes 9 Ivy League courses during quarantine
The injury came at the worst possible time, halting whatever form and momentum she gained in a campaign under the watchful eyes of legendary coach Andrea Magro that saw her rise to world No. 62 - the highest ever reached by a Filipino fencer.
"From the moment I was told that I had torn my ACL, I never once looked back. I focused on my recovery," said Esteban, who, instead of moping, buckled down to work in her recovery, doing everything from the routine to the peculiar.
A day after surgery, she already walked 3 kilometers with crutches; three days later, she walked with one crutch; at one month post-op, she was back doing lessons with Coach Andrea; at three months, she was doing running in intervals.

In between, she did hyperbaric chamber therapy and cryotherapy three times a week, not to mention the 'yucky soup' her mom asked her to take regularly [a high-collagen mix of chicken feet, litid, bone marrow, and ligaments mixed with a half liter of soymilk, high dose Vitamin C, dairy products] plus eight kinds of supplements ( collagen, amino acid, probiotics, vitamin C, D, B, Chinese mushroom, and magnesium).
"I really don't know if all these are clinically proven but my mom said she researched about this and think it will help me recover faster," she said smiling.
Whether that concoction was effective or not, Esteban got the green from orthopedic surgeon Dr. Edgar Eufemio to go back to training and competition five months after surgery, when ACLs normally take eight months minimum to heal.
"I knew I had to do more than what most athletes do," Esteban said. "I wanted to be back as soon as I can, plus time is of the essence since the Olympic qualifiers are just around the corner. I need to be ready by then."
Coach Andrea, who guided the legendary fencing career of Valentina Vezzali of Italy, owner of six Olympic gold medals, stayed in Manila to oversee Esteban's recovery, but nothing can prepare coach and fencer enough for what they will do next.

Over the next six months, Esteban will compete in 15 top-level tournaments in Europe starting with the World Cup in Paris from January 12 to 14 - all geared toward returning to her pre-surgery form at the soonest possible time.
Esteban recently lost her spot in the national team which all but took the SEA Games out of the equation, but nothing can get in the way of her Olympic dream.
“That has always been my dream,” she said of the Summer Games.
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