Paige McPherson

Paige McPherson
McPherson in 2012
Personal information
Born (1990-10-01) October 1, 1990 (age 34)
Abilene, Texas
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
Country United States
SportTaekwondo
EventWelterweight (67 kg)
Coached byJuan Moreno
Medal record
Representing  United States
Women's Taekwondo
Summer Olympics
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London 67 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Muju 67 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Chelyabinsk 67 kg
Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place 2018 Taoyuan 67 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Moscow 67 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2017 London 67 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto 67 kg
Silver medal – second place 2011 Guadalajara 67 kg
Silver medal – second place 2019 Lima 67 kg
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Caguas 67 kg
Gold medal – first place 2016 Queretaro 67 kg
Gold medal – first place 2018 Spokane 67 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Aguascalientes 67 kg
Updated on 19 September 2018

Paige Arielle "McFierce" McPherson (born October 1, 1990, in Abilene, Texas) is an Olympic taekwondo competitor from the United States.[1][2]

Biography

Early life and education

McPherson grew up in Sturgis, South Dakota.[3] She and four other siblings were adopted by Susan and Dave McPherson.[4] Her biological family includes an older brother and two half-siblings.[5] She is of African American and Filipino descent.[6] She graduated from Black Hills Classical Christian Academy in 2009 and then went on to attend Miami-Dade College.[7]

Career

McPherson was a silver medalist at the 2011 Pan Am Games.[8]

She represented the USA at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women’s 67 kg taekwondo event and in the preliminary round secured a surprise defeat over Team GB's Sarah Stevenson.[9] McPherson went on to win a bronze medal by defeating Franka Anić of Slovenia, 8-3.[10]

After winning a gold medal in the 2016 Pan American Games McPherson was selected to represent the United States as a member of the Team USA Taekwondo Team in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Brazil.[11] At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she lost her first match against Farida Azizova.[2]

She has qualified to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[12]

Personal life

McPherson is of African-American and Filipino descent.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Paige McPherson competes in Olympic Games". South Dakota Public Broadcasting. July 27, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Paige McPherson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. ^ Holland, Deb. "Paige McPherson plans visit to Sturgis". Meade County Times-Tribune. Rapid City Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  4. ^ Holland, Deb (July 27, 2012). "Sturgis woman going for Olympic gold". Meade County Times–Tribune. Rapid City Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  5. ^ Florek, Michael (June 19, 2012). "Olympic taekwondo star is one of five adopted kids in family". USA Today. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  6. ^ Rodriguez, Alex (November 22, 2012). "Paige McPherson: She's McFierce". Miami New Times. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  7. ^ Knuckles, Dennis (March 23, 2012). "McPherson ready to live Olympic dream". Black Hills Pioneer. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  8. ^ Aldred, Tanya (August 10, 2012). "London 2012 Olympics: tragic death of parents puts defeat in perspective for Sarah Stevenson". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  9. ^ "Paige McPherson advances". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 10, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  10. ^ Cherwa, John; Dillman, Lisa (August 10, 2012). "OLYMPICS ROUNDUP Paige McPherson wins bronze in taekwondo". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  11. ^ Zirogiannis, Marc (September 2016). "The Age of McFierce". Tae Kwon Do Life Magazine. 2 (September 2016): 18–22. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  12. ^ OlympicTalk (2021-06-19). "U.S. Olympic team roster: Athletes qualified for Tokyo Games". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
  13. ^ "Asian-American Athletes to Watch at the 2016 Rio Olympics". NBC News. July 15, 2016.