Paris Olympics veteran Maxine Esteban couldn’t help but smile when she recalled her experience during her free fencing seminar in Manila last week.

Esteban said seeing the smile on the young athletes’ faces was truly heartwarming, knowing that she was able to teach them the basics of the sport during her two-day camp with the support of her sponsor, Rebisco.

The 25-year-old Esteban is currently in the country to spend time with her family while having an internship with a multinational accounting firm. After this, she will fly to the United States to resume her training in a bid to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

“It was really fulfilling to give back to the community,” said the Filipino-Ivorian fencing sensation during her guesting at Off the Court, the weekly online sports show of DAILY TRIBUNE.

“It was really fulfilling to give back to the community. It was a really fun event because we were able to motivate them and show them what fencing is really like.”

Aside from Esteban, also helping mold young fencers into future champions were World Cup medalists and European champions Carlota Ferrari and Isaia Napolitano of Italy and US-based National Collegiate Athletic Association standout Czarina Alfonso.

The camp was supposed to have limited participants but Esteban eventually decided to welcome 50 fencers aged eight to 12 years old from various schools and clubs all over the country.

Esteban added that interacting with kids, especially the less-fortunate, is something she loves to do.

“I love that I get to interact with a lot of kids. I saw that they were really motivated to fence, especially the younger kids. So, I’m like really happy that more and more people are getting interested in fencing.”

Giving back to the community is nothing new to Esteban.

Last year, the former Ateneo de Manila University spearheaded the donation of running shoes and other equipment to student-athletes from Olongapo City who would be competing in the Batang Pinoy in Puerto Princesa City.

She said an act of kindness like this warms her heart, prompting her to work even harder so she can give more to her community.

“I guess after the camp, a lot of kids came to me and they were like: ‘Oh I want to try fencing now.’ It made me really happy because before fencing was not a popular sport and now I get to see that fencing is becoming more and more popular,” said Esteban, one of the few athletes whose heart is made of gold.

“So, it makes me happy that a lot of kids want to try it.”