Paige McPherson
Paige Arielle "McFierce" McPherson is an American taekwondo athlete. A three-time Olympian, she competed for the United States in three different editions of the Summer Olympics. McPherson won the bronze medal in the [Taekwondo at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games|Summer Olympics – Women's 67 kg|women's 67 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics] in London, England.
Early life
McPherson was born on October 1, 1990, in Abilene, Texas. She grew up in Sturgis, South Dakota. McPherson and four other siblings were adopted by Susan and Dave McPherson. Her biological family includes an older brother and two half-siblings. McPherson graduated from Black Hills Classical Christian Academy in 2009, and then went on to attend Miami Dade College.Career
McPherson was a silver medalist in the women's 67 kg taekwondo event at the 2011 Pan American Games.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. McPherson went on to win a bronze medal by defeating Franka Anić of Slovenia, 8-3.
After winning a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games, McPherson was selected to represent the [United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics|2016 Summer Olympics|United States] as a member of the Team USA Taekwondo Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During the 2016 Summer Olympics, she lost her first match against Farida Azizova.
She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, finishing in fifth place in the women's 67 kg event.