Catantan gets top tips from Olympian

Walter Torres, the last Filipino fencer to play in the Olympics, said on Tuesday that Samantha Catantan should address her injury now so she could recover in time for the opening of the Paris Olympics in late-July.

“First is to manage her injury, which is a muscle strain,” Torres, now a commissioner with the Philippine Sports Commission, said during the weekly Philippine Sportwriters Association Forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

Catantan secured an Olympic slot after winning the gold medal in the women’s foil of the Asia-Oceania Zonal Olympic Qualifier last April in the United Arab Emirates.

“Now that she’s in the Philippines and the attention is on her, she will have lots of engagements. I told her to enjoy it but eventually, she has to focus on training. You have to prioritize training,” said the 56-year-old Torres, who competed in the 1992 Barcelona Games.

“I know she will be training in Italy and France but why not start the habit now.”

Torres used to be the country’s top bet.

He won gold in the 1991 Southeast Asian Games and eventually placed 53rd out of 59 entries in Barcelona.

The 56-year-old official had a chat with Catantan when she made a courtesy call last May at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and asked her how the PSC can help her campaign in the French capital.

“I’m happy that I was able to congratulate her personally,” Torres said.

“When she won the Asia-Oceania, I texted her if she was able to make a visit at the Philippines Sports Commission and ask her how we can help her prepare better for the Olympics.”