Paige McPherson

Last updated
Paige McPherson
Paige McPherson.jpg
McPherson in 2012
Personal information
Born (1990-10-01) October 1, 1990 (age 35)
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
CountryFlag of the United States.svg  United States
SportTaekwondo
Event
Welterweight (67 kg)
Coached by Juan Moreno
Medal record
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Women's Taekwondo
Summer Olympics
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2012 London 67 kg
World Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2017 Muju 67 kg
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2015 Chelyabinsk 67 kg
Grand Prix
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2018 Taoyuan 67 kg
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2017 Moscow 67 kg
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2017 London 67 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Toronto 67 kg
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2011 Guadalajara 67 kg
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Lima 67 kg
Pan American Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2008 Caguas67 kg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2016 Queretaro67 kg
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2018 Spokane67 kg
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2014 Aguascalientes67 kg

Paige Arielle "McFierce" McPherson (born October 1, 1990) is an American taekwondo athlete. A three-time Olympian, she competed for the United States in three different editions of the Summer Olympics (2012, 2016, and 2020). McPherson won the bronze medal in the women's 67 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life

McPherson was born on October 1, 1990, in Abilene, Texas. She grew up in Sturgis, South Dakota. [3] McPherson and four other siblings were adopted by Susan and Dave McPherson. [4] Her biological family includes an older brother and two half-siblings. [5] McPherson graduated from Black Hills Classical Christian Academy in 2009, and then went on to attend Miami Dade College. [6]

Career

McPherson was a silver medalist in the women's 67 kg taekwondo event at the 2011 Pan American Games. [7]

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

After winning a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games, McPherson was selected to represent the United States as a member of the Team USA Taekwondo Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [10] During the 2016 Summer Olympics, she lost her first match against Farida Azizova. [2]

She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, finishing in fifth place in the women's 67 kg event. [11]

Personal life

McPherson is of African American and Filipino descent. [12] [13]

References

  1. "Paige McPherson competes in Olympic Games". South Dakota Public Broadcasting. July 27, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  2. 1 2 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. Knuckles, Dennis (March 23, 2012). "McPherson ready to live Olympic dream". Black Hills Pioneer . Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  7. 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.
  8. "Paige McPherson advances". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 10, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  9. Cherwa, John; Dillman, Lisa (August 10, 2012). "OLYMPICS ROUNDUP Paige McPherson wins bronze in taekwondo". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  10. 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.
  11. OlympicTalk (2021-06-19). "U.S. Olympic team roster: Athletes qualified for Tokyo Games". OlympicTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
  12. Rodriguez, Alex (November 22, 2012). "Paige McPherson: She's McFierce". Miami New Times . Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  13. Nguyen, Minh (July 15, 2016). "Asian-American Athletes to Watch at the 2016 Rio Olympics". NBC News . Retrieved July 29, 2024.