Paige McPherson

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

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

Career
McPherson was a silver medalist at the 2011 Pan Am Games.

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. McPherson went on to win a bronze medal by defeating Franka Anić of Slovenia, 8-3.

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. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she lost her first match against Farida Azizova.

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