Paris Olympic Spotlight: Samantha Catantan (fencing)

After recovering from a devastating ACL injury, fencer Samantha Catantan is finally making her Olympic debut in Paris.

A few months after her injury, the 22-year-old Catantan hailed a bus to France after ruling the senior women’s foil competition in the Asia-Oceanic Zonal Olympic Qualifier in Fujairah back in April. 

In the bout, she appeared to have tweaked her left knee against Kazakhstan’s Sofiya Aktayeva. But the team captain of Penn State University battled through it and pulled off a close win. 

Now healthy, the country’s top-ranked fencer in the women’s foil category is bent on seizing glory in the Games.

Watch Catantan fleche through opponents to Olympic splendor on July 28, at around 3 p.m.