Catantan ousted Singapore’s Maxine Jie Xin Wong with a thrilling 14-12 victory at the My Dinh Indoor Athletics Palace in the biennial meet.

The Filipina fencer redeemed her SEA Games heartbreaks, settling for bronze and silver, respectively, after losing both to Singapore’s Amita Berthier in the semifinals.

Catantan pulled off a stellar run including a win over home bet Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong of Vietnam in the elimination round, 12-7, before completing a masterful win against Chayanutphat Shinnakerdchoke of Thailand in the semifinal, 15-4.

The former University of the East (UE) fencer made her debut for Pennsylvania State University in 2021, helping the Nittany Lions finish second in the NCAA tournament.

She captured a bronze in the women’s foil and received All-America honors, and Penn State hailed her as the Most Valuable Player of the team.

Catantan now joins Francine Padios (pencak silat), Jack Escarpe (kurash), Carlos Yulo (gymnastics), Gina Araos Iniong (kickboxing), Jean Claude Saclag (kickboxing), Fer Casares (triathlon), and Kim Mangrobang (triathlon), and others in the Philippines’ list of gold medalists in the biennial meet.