Tokyo Olympics: Paige 'McFierce' McPherson battles her way to fourth in taekwando

SCREEN CAPTURE / NBC

Paige McPherson, left, in one of her taekwondo matches in Tokyo.

Paige McPherson fell just shy of bringing home her second Olympic medal in taekwondo, but her fourth-place finish in the women’s 67 kg. class capped an impressive showing for the women of Team USA. The match also may mark the end of the Filipino American's competitive career.

"After this I’m actually transitioning out of the sport. It was kind of a sentimental day and emotional day overall just because it being the Olympics and also it possibly being my last competition eve,” McPherson said.

A day earlier, 18-year-old Anastasija Zolotic became the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport with her victory at 57 kg.

PAGE McPHERSON

McPherson, also known as “McFierce” was competing in her third Olympic Games and looking for her second medal. Now 30, McPherson won bronze in 2012 and finished 11th in Rio in 2016. 

Seeded fifth in Tokyo, she got through the round of 16 with an 8-5 win over Farida Azizova of Azerbaijan, then defeated Turkey’s Nur Tatar, the fourth seed, 3-1 in the quarterfinals. A 15-4 loss to No. 1 Matea Jelic of Croatia in the semifinal meant foiled McPherson’s hopes of making it to the gold-medal match and set up the bronze medal contest against Egypt’s Hedaya Wahba. 

McPherson, from Sturgis, South Dakota, took a 5-3 lead midway through the match but Wahba jumped out to an 11-5 lead and then a head shot made it 17-6. The gap was too great for McPherson to overcome.

"I’m disappointed,” McPherson said. “I had that match and I should have listened to my own gut at the end of the day and I chose to listen otherwise, and it cost me the match.”

McPherson lost the semifinal match against eventual gold medal winner Matea Jelić, of Croatia. The U.S. Olympian then faced off against Hedaya Wahba, of Egypt, in one of two bronze medal match-ups, which she also lost.

Taekwondo is one of a handful of Olympic sports that award two bronze medals. Other sports that offer two bronze medals are boxing, judo and wrestling.

Even though she lost, she won over the hearts of the Miami community, where she lives, and grateful for the support of her family in South Dakota,

“It really is an honor to be here again for the third time. Nobody has ever done it and I was so close to another medal, but at the end of the day (I'm) just super thankful," said the Filipino American.

To “all my friends and family from there and even from around the U.S and the world. Just seeing those encouraging comments, messages and calls, I’m truly grateful,” McPherson said.

“I wouldn’t be here without you guys. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to bring a medal, but I did give it my all.”