U.S. figure skating star announces her retirement

Alysa Liu is retiring from competitive figure skating.

Two weeks after winning a bronze medal in the World Figure Skating Championship, ALysa Liu, one of the U.S.'s brightest figure skating stars, has decided to hang up her skates and announced she is  "going to be moving on with my life."

At just 16 years of age, it was widely believed that she would be one of the U.S.'s highest hopes for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Instead, the Richmond, California youngster surprised the figure skating world when she announced Saturday via social media that she is "satisfied" with her skating career and would retire to study and become a regular teenager.

"Heyyyyy so I'm here to announce that I am retiring from skating," she wrote ion her Instagram account.

"I started skating when I was 5 so that's about 11 years on the ice and it's been an insane 11 years. A lot of good and a lot of bad but yk [you know] that's just how it is. I've made so many friends, and so so sooo many good memories that I'll have for the rest of my life," she continued.

"I honestly never thought I would've accomplished as much as I did LMAOO I'm so happy. I feel so satisfied with how my skating career has gone. Now that I'm finally done with my goals in skating I'm going to be moving on with my life."

Liu's retirement comes after her father revealed last month that she had been embroiled in an apparent Chinese spying scandal. However, there is no indication if her retirement is linked her father's political activism. He left China in 1989 after taking part in the Tianamen Square protests and subsequent massacre of the protestors by the Chinese government.

Liu's retirement comes under a month after her father revealed that she had been embroiled in an apparent Chinese spying scandal in which the Chinese government was accused of trying to intimidate Chinese dissidents living in the U.S. Arthur Liu was informed by the FBI prior to the Beijing Olympics that he was one of the people targeted by China.

During the Winter Games held in Beijing last February, Alysa Liu was provided with protection by the U.S. government because of the spying allegations.

During her career, Liu won two senior U.S. national championship titles, becoming the youngest athlete to win the women's crown when she did so in 2019 when she was just 13. She retained her title in 2020, prior to the pandemic, which – coupled with injuries and a growth spurt – slowed Liu down.

She won Team USA an additional Olympic spot for Beijing 2022 at the Nebelhorn Trophy last October and, although she had to withdraw from the 2022 nationals after contracting Covid, was named to the Olympic squad.

Liu finished seventh in Beijing, opting against attempting the triple Axel or any quadruple jumps, which she had previously landed in Junior Grand Prix competition. The full results of the women's singles event in Beijing remain provisional depending on the outcome of the World Skating Federation on the Russian woman skater using illegal performance enhancing drugs.

Her final competition was the World Championships last month in Montpellier, France, where she improved from fifth after the short program to win bronze.

Speaking after that medal, Liu said of the past two years: "I lost a lot of my motivation. I was barely going to the rink, not doing off-ice [workouts]. Then I grew a lot and got injured quite a bit. I had an on-and-off injury and that really slowed me down. Honestly, I have no idea how I got my motivation back and got to this point."

This season was Liu's first year at the senior level. She previously won two ISU Challenger Series golds, two ISU Junior Grand Prix golds, a Junior Grand Prix Final silver, and a World Junior Championships bronze medal.

"this skating thing has taught me a lot more about life than i anticipated," Liu concluded her lengthy explanation on social media.

"i’m really glad i skated."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Ice skating: Nathan Chen stumbles, Vincent Zhou rises wins Grand Prix title

USA SKATE

For the first time, Nathan Chen beat fellow American Nathan Chen in Las Vegas over the weekend.

An Asian American came in first in the men's free skate at Skate America on Saturday at Las Vegas' Orleans Areina, but it wasn't perennial champion Nathan Chen.

A spectacular Vincent Zhou easily held off Chen’s challenge, winning his first Grand Prix title and snapping Chen’s streak of 14 consecutive titles over the span of three-plus seasons.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” Zhou said. “I didn’t really expect this result. What I did expect of myself was to be as well prepared and well trained as I possibly could be, and focusing on that every day at home led to the seemingly impossible becom(ing) possible.”

When added to Friday’s short program scores, Zhou won gold with 295.56 points, and Japan’s Shoma Uno took silver with 270.68 points. Despite placing second in the free skate, Chen — who finished fourth in the short program — settled for bronze with 269.37 points.

It is the first time Zhou has defeated Chen, who is a year older, in senior competition. The win comes on the eve of Zhou’s birthday — the Palo Alto, California, native turned 21 on Sunday (Oct. 24).

Zhou credited getting an early start this season — Skate America is his fourth competition — as well as superior preparation and good health, for his win.

“My training this year has been by far the most consistent and productive training I have ever had,” he said. “Being well prepared, training to perform under whatever circumstances, is really paying off. ... It’s just all about managing the ups and downs, not letting anything get into my head, working hard, keeping the goals in mind.”

For his part, Chen shrugged off the end of his winning streak, which had stretched back to the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships.  

“It is not devastating,” he said. “It was inevitably going to end (at) some point in time. ... I am really proud of the guys up here. If anyone was going to break it, I’m glad it was (Vincent).”

The two Team USA athletes both put on powerful technical displays in their free skates. Zhou attempted, and landed, five quadruple jumps, while Chen tried six quads, landing four and doubling out of the other two.

“Trying and accomplish(ing) are very different things, right?” Chen said. “I ended up doing four. ... The more you put out, the more risky it is. Is it worth it, I don't know. It depends on the day, I guess.”

Zhou’s free skate, set to the “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” soundtrack, is far more seasoned, choreographically layered and compelling than Chen’s program to Mozart selections. Zhou first performed it during the 2018-19 season, winning the world bronze medal.

“I think it’s a very strong all-around program, it fits my character — well, it’s exciting,” he said. “I’m able to move to it well, it has a strong ending.”

The judges agreed: they awarded Zhou 198.13 points for his free skate, while Chen earned 186.48 points. 

Zhou had the last word at the press conference, tipping his hat to his longtime rival.

“Obviously, I don’t expect to win everything, I’m not Nathan Chen,” he said. “It’s an honor to compete in such a deep men’s field and an honor to win the gold medal. ... We are going to take this for what it is and ride the momentum and keep moving forward.”

In the ice dancing competition, Asian American Madison Chock and her partner Evan Bates, came in second to with 208.23. The pair was edged by their training mates Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue who earned 209.54 points.

-- USA SKATE

Filipino Canadian teen upsets Osaka from US Open

Leylah Annie Fernandez exults in her win over Naomi Osaka.

Three days before her 19th birthday, the 73rd-ranked Filipino Canadian tennis player battled back to stun the No. 3-ranked Naomi Osaka, 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.

After the match, while Leylah Annie Fernandez was celebrating her victory in the third round of the US Open, a tearful Osaka announced that she would take an indefinite leave from tennis.

Osaka, who apparently is still struggling with her mental health, said that winning no longer makes her happy.

When I win I don't feel happy," she explained to a reporter. "I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. I don't think that's normal."

It has been a year of highs and lows for Osaka, who plays for Japan. She withdrew from the French Open citing her mental health struggle; she had a high point when she was chosen to light the Olympic torch to open the Tokyo Olympiad; although favored to win a medal, the Japanese American was defeated in an early round.

"I feel like I'm kind of at this point where I'm trying to figure out what I want to do," she said, adding "and I honestly don't know when I'm going to play my next tennis match…I think I'm going to take a break from playing for a while."

Meanwhile, the soon-to-be 19-year old Fernandez, whose mother is Filipino Canadian and father is from Ecuador, was full of confidence and not surprised at her win, coming back after losing the first set.

"From a very young age, I knew I was able to beat anyone, anyone who is in front of me," said Fernandez. ... "I've always had that belief," she continued. "I've always, like, tried to use that in every match that I go on.

"I guess today that belief came true."

Upset at her play, the normally cool Naomi Osaka lost her composure at the US Open.

Even after losing the first set, Fernandez believed she could win.

"I was very happy how I played in the first set. In the break I was telling myself to stay positive, keep fighting. 'I'm there. I'm close,'" Fernandez said.

"In the second set, I guess on the very last game I found the solution to the problem of returning her serve. I'm glad I found it."

On beating Osaka, someone she idolizes, during the post-game meeting with media, Fernandez said, "Naomi is a great person, a great player. She has done so many good things on tour.

"Just seeing her and learning from her game has helped me shape who I am right now. She's a great example for anybody that's on tour and all the little girls in the world.

"I'm just glad I had the opportunity to play against her and show everyone that I'm also able to compete against the best players up there."

Naomi Osaka cries during press conference

SCREEN CAPTURE

Naomi Osaka struggles with her emotions during a press conference.

OPINION

I get it: Sometimes journalists have to be aggressive to get an answer, a revealing quote, or to get a subject to respond; but, you don't have to be an ass.

Almost three months after she left the French Open to avoid taking part in post-match press conferences and needed a "mental health" break, the 23-year old Japanese American began meeting the media during the Olympics. 

Apparently, the tennis star is still struggling with her emotions and her mental health as evidenced by her press conference Monday before the Western & Southern Open, when Osaka broke into tears after persistent questioning from a reporter.

“You're not crazy about dealing with us, especially in this format,” Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer began, before wondering how the defending US Open champion balances outside interests that are “served by a media platform.”

“When you say I’m not crazy about dealing with you guys, what does that refer to?” Osaka replied, according to the New York Times.

The reporter, The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Paul Daugherty, repeated his question: “Well, you’ve said you don’t especially like the news conference format, yet that seems to be obviously the most widely used means of communicating to the media and through the media to the public.”

“I would say the occasion, when to do the press conferences is what I feel is the most difficult,” said the No. 2-ranked Osaka, before pausing. “I’m actually very interested in that point of view.

“For me I feel this is something I can’t really speak for everybody, I can only speak for myself. But ever since I was younger, I’ve had a lot of media interest on me, and I think it’s because of my background as well as how I play.

“Because in the first place I’m a tennis player, which is why a lot of people are interested in me. So I would say in that regard I’m quite different to a lot of people, and I can’t really help that there are some things I tweet or say that create a lot of news articles or things like that.

“But I would also say, I’m not really sure how to balance it too, I’m figuring it out at the same time as you are, I would say.”

After giving that response, Osaka then began struggling for composure before breaking down as the next question by another reporter was being asked. The moderator called a break and Osaka left the to compose herself, before returning and answering one further question in English and several in Japanese.

Osaka’s agent Stuart Duguid condemned Daugherty’s line of questioning in a prepared statement.

“The bully at the Cincinnati Enquirer is the epitome of why player/media relations are so fraught right now,” said Duguid. “Everyone on that Zoom will agree that his tone was all wrong and his sole purpose was to intimidate. Really appalling behaviour,” he said.

“And this insinuation that Naomi owes her off-court success to the media is a myth – don’t be so self-indulgent.”

Reading the words on a page is one thing, but when you listen to the exchange, there was a tone in the reporter's questioning that New York Times tennis writer Ben Rothenberg, the press conference was gong smoothly until Daugherty's offered “a fairly aggressively toned question about how she benefits from a high-media profile but doesn’t like talking to media.”

To her credit, after five minutes, Osaka returned to finish answering questions in English and Japanese.

As a newspaper editor, I've seen some reporters revel in what they say is being aggressive. Some of them were not very nice people and they were proud that their subjects feared them., hoping that they would get the subject to stumble or reveal something new. There's a fine line between being persistent and being an ass. Unfortunately, management often favored and rewarded what ordinary people would call rude behavior.

Considering Osaka's the fragile nature of Osaka's mental health, the questioner could have couched his question in a less accusatory tone. Journalists should consider the context of tennis in the context of world events. She's only a tennis player, not a politician with power and influence over so many lives or a CEO spending billions of dollars. Save the hard questioning for those people who deserve to be put on the spot.

“We appreciate the respectful dialogue with Ms. Osaka at the press conference,” the executive editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Beryl Love, said in a statement. “It was a straightforward question that we feel led to a meaningful exchange. That said, we sincerely regret that our questioning upset her in any way.”

Aggressive reporting? or just being an ass? 

A word of caution: This is news laced with my opinion. Readers are encouraged to read multiple sources to form their own opinions.

Tokyo Olympics: U.S. karateka finishes fourth with "no regrets"

USA KARATE

The United State's Sakura Kokumai's journey will not end with the Olympics.

For Sakura Kokumai, the long, lonely journey to the Olympics was as important as the medal she did not win. She finished fourth in the Olympic's karate competition in kata, a formal routine performed for technique, speed, power and mental focus.

“I am happy to be back here in Japan. It was a very special Olympics,” Kokumai said after her competition ended. “Unfortunately, I am not able to go back with the hardware but I’m pretty proud with all the performances that I did.”

Just out of medal range, she hopes she can contend again in the Olympics. Karate is not included in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but somewhere down the line, the 28-year old hopes to achieve her dream.

Born in Hawaii to Japanese parents, Team USA’s Sakura Kokumai had always associated with both the U.S. and Japan, spending most of her life going between the two countries. 

For years she prepared for the 2020 Olympics. Without a major sponsor or sports endorsements, she had to rent a room in a Japanese American family's home to train in California. She had to scrape up enough money to attend international competitions to become qualified to compete in the first Games to include karate.

Then COVID-19 happened delaying the Games for another year. Another year of renting a room and training alone.

It was during one training session in a public park when she was harassed for being Asian. She was not afraid but because of her traininig in the martial arts, she chose not to respond to the verbal attacks from the apparently mentally unbalanced man.

"I was a target because of how I looked," she said. "Not because I am an athlete. Not because I compete in karate — but because I am Asian. And no matter how you look at me, I will always look Asian."

In Tokyo, performing late Wednesday in the second week of the Olympic Games, she was in contention for a bronze medal.

In her final kata, the only American woman competing among the 40 athletes taking part in karate in Tokyo performed a suparinpei, which means one hundred and eight hands and contains techniques and variations that mimic crane movements. 

“I am happy to be back here in Japan. It was a very special Olympics,” Kokumai said after her competition ended. “Unfortunately, I am not able to go back with the hardware but I’m pretty proud with all the performances that I did.”

With karate not on the Paris program for 2024, Kokumai is hoping she’ll get another shot at a medal down the road.

“As a karate athlete, we have been doing this for the love of our sport. And I really hope that people are able to see what we do as athletes,” the karateka said. 

Watch Sakura Kokumai perform her kata at the Olympics.

With karate not on the Paris program for 2024, Kokumai is hoping she’ll get another shot at a medal down the road.

“As a karate athlete, we have been doing this for the love of our sport. And I really hope that people are able to see what we do as athletes,” the karateka said. “We train very hard — just like any other athlete — and I believe that we belong here in the Olympics. Unfortunately as of now, this is a first and last, but hopefully we will be able to make a comeback in the next few Olympics coming up.” 

Spain's Sandra Sanchez, known as the "queen of kata", won the gold medal on Thursday, defeating perennial rival and hometown favourite Kiyou Shimizu in the sport's historic debut at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The Bronze medal went to Italy's Viviana Bottaro.  

“Got myself to the final medal round but not the result I wanted,” said Kokumai in an Instagram post. “A lot of thoughts crossing my mind, but one thing is for sure, I have no regrets.”

Tokyo Olympics: Spikes and digs. U.S. volleyball teams challenged; unsung hero Libero Justine Wong-Orantes

Justine Wong-Orantes, as a defensive specialist, is often seen diving for the ball.

Other countries in Asia and Europe have professional volleyball leagues. It is hard to understand why the U.S. hasn't been more successful in marketing the sport. Volleyball played at the elite level is fast, compact, exciting. and filled with attractive and interesting players.

One of the unsung heroes of the U.S. women's volleyball team is hard to miss. She's also the only Asian American on the floor -- literally, on the floor. Justine Wong-Orantes is the one usually sprawled out on the floor after diving for a dig on a hard-hit spike by the opponent. 

While only 5'6" she stands tall among her teammates who are almost all over 6 to 10 inches taller than her. While the spikers get most of the glory, the team could not be where it is without the play of Wong-Orantes, which draws praise from players,  coaches and those familiar with the game.

What also makes her stand out is the different color shirt that she's required to wear as a libero. A libero is a defensive specialist and there are certain things that the player can or can't do on offense and the standout shirt makes it easier for the official to keep an eye on what she is permitted to do.

During the years leading to the Olympics, Wong-Orantes lost her position and had to fight and train hard to win it back.

“I’ve got to give her so much credit for her resilience and tenacity,” coache Karch Kiraly told the L.A. Times. “She didn’t stop working … and now you see teams testing her and they’re not getting anything out of it, and that’s making us way better when we have somebody really solid in that position. …

Wong-Orantes, 25, is proud of her Filipino, Chinese and Mexican heritage, and she aims to use her star presence on the Olympic team to promote participation in volleyball by girls of all backgrounds.

“Definitely got people reaching out to me who’ve said how inspiring it is, so that’s really cool to hear,” she said. “Sports in general is such a huge platform for us to give back and really inspire, especially young girls.”

The U.S. team will make its quarterfinals appearance on Wednesday, Aug. 4 against a yet-to-be-determined nation. They’re looking to improve upon their bronze-medal finish in the 2016 Rio Olympics. The U.S. women have never won the gold.

* * *

Micah Chrstenson of the U.S. men's volleyball team.

The U.S. men's volleyball team, with six AAPI players on the 19-member squad, was eliminated from medal contention Sunday, losing to Argentina in straight sets, 3-0. 

“It’s heartbreaking,” said AAPI setter Micah Christenson after the Argentina loss  denied the U.S. the last slot in the quarterfinals.

“We worked really hard for this. We delayed another year to work as hard as we could for this. This isn’t the way we wanted to finish plain and simple. It’s heartbreaking.”

With a 2-3 win-loss record, the team lost to the Russians and Brazil before falling to Argentina. They topped France and Tunisia.

The U.S. had medaled at two of the last three Olympics and had not been eliminated in round-robin play since the 2000 Sydney Games, when the team went 0-5.

Tokyo Olympics: A distracted Suni Lee still earns a bronze medal on uneven bars

NBC

American Sunisa Lee didn't feel right Sunday during her uneven bars routine.

An Olympic bronze medal is nothing to sneeze at but Sunisa Lee couldn't help but sound disappointed.

The gold medal winner of the women's all-around gymnastic title last Thursday, Lee expected to do better on the uneven bars, her favorite event.

"Bars is something I really cherish," Lee said. "So when I mess it up, it really sucks.

“It really sucks because this wasn’t the bar routine I was supposed to do or wanted to do,” Lee said. “Bars is, like, my thing. I’m just kind of sad about it.”

It was the evening's high score, 15.3 that she earned for her complicated routine on the uneven bars during the all-around competition that put her in serious contention for the gold.

But Sunday night, she didn't feel right. She only scored 14.5. Belgium’s Nina Derwael won gold with a 15.2. Derwael won the last two world championships.

Lee admits the distractions that come with winning the gold medal may have affected her performance.

Since her gold medal a little more than two days ago, she has been caught in a whirlwind of interviews and social media mentions. It's a lot. As a result, judging from her uneven bars performance Sunday, it's probably too much.

Since the Olympics began ten days ago, the Hmong American's popularity has exploded. She's added 950,000 followers on Instagram, a stunning 390% increase, including 365,000 since she won the gold medal.

The fame and glory is something she wasn't prepared for. She was expecting to be playing second fiddle to Simone Biles, who was expected to dominate the gymnastics competition. Biles unexpected withdrawal to focus on her mental health needs, put Lee in the spotlight she never sought.

A bronze medal,"is really cool," Lee said. "I just wish the bronze medal was a (balance) beam medal, not bars."

Lee will get a chance to add to her gold and bronze when she enters the balance beam final on Tuesday, admittedly not her best event. A medal on vault would be a bit of a surprise.

She believes the social media was a distraction Sunday. The 18-year old Minnesotan  thinks she might avoid Twitter until the competition is over.

Filipino American drafted at No. 2 nabbed by Houston Rockets

NBA

No. 2 draft pick Jaylen Green will play for the Houston Rockets.

Overnight, the number of Filipino American players in the NBA doubled -- to two.

Jalen Green, drafted No. 2 by the Houston Rockets Thursday in the NBA's draft in the first round, he joins Jordan Clarkson as the only Filipino American players in the league. The 6 feet, 6 in. guard will join the Rocket's 21-year old veteran Kevin Porter to form one of the youngest backcourts in the league.

“I love the Philippines. They show love and support. I’m just happy to get to represent them. I’m happy that I have family out there and I’m tied into the Philippines so I’m excited, and I hope they’re excited,too,” said Green, whose mother is from the Philippine province Ilocos Sur.

Green, who turned 19-years old on Feb. 9, was the first player to sign with NBA G League Ignite, a team dedicated to the development and mentorship of top young prospects in preparation for the NBA Draft. In 15 G League games last season, he averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.53 steals, and 2.1 3-pointers made. Green tallied 30 points, 7 assists, 5 boards, and 3 steals in the Ignite’s lone playoff game vs. Raptors 905.

As a senior at California’s Prolific Prep in 2019-20, Green averaged 31.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He was ranked as the No. 1 high school prospect in the Class of 2020 by ESPN and was a McDonald’s All-American.

Green won gold medals with USA Basketball at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup, and 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.Out of high school, 

Althugh highly recruited by colleges while he was in high school, he opted to forego college and join the G-League developmental program. He was one of the first elite prospects to take advantage of the league’s new “professional pathway” program, which he believes offered superior NBA preparation relative to college basketball.

NBA scouts believe he has "significant potential as a scorer," able to hit baskets at all three levels with a quick first-step and able to create his own shot. His defensive abilities needs work, however.

Tokyo Olympics: Japanese American swimmer wins silver in 1,500 meter race

NBC

Erica Sullivan, left, celebrates with teammate and gold medalist Katie Ledecky.

Usually, all the media's attention is on the gold medal winner, but Erica Sullivan grabbed some of the spotlight after coming in second in the inaugural women's 1,500m freestyle.

Sullivan's Silver Medal finish Wednesday was a surprise and the first person to congratulate the Japanese American was celebrated teammate Katie Ledecky, who finished four seconds ahead of Sullivan.

In the press conference following the race, Sullivan's told the journalists, that she was the "epitome of an American person.

“I’m multicultural. I’m queer. I’m a lot of minorities. That’s what America is,” said the Las Vegas resident. “That’s what America is. To me, America is not about being a majority. It’s about having your own start. The American Dream is coming to a country to establish what you want to do with your life.”

She responded to the Japanese reporters in fluent Japanese, the result of many trips to Japan with her mother,, Maco, who watched her daughter's moment from her Las Vegas home with Erica's younger sister, Nina. Her grandfather, Sullivan said, helped design some of the Olympic facilities.

"It's surprising and it's really cool that everything just happened to line up and work out," Sullivan said on NBC's Today show. "My mom would've loved to be here, but she's at home in Vegas cheering us on."

“Just me getting to be on the podium, in Japan, as an Asian American woman and getting to take silver in a historical women’s event for the first time, as someone who likes women and who identifies as gay — it’s so cool,” she said, via the Post. “It’s awesome.”

After qualifying for the Olympics, she said about Japan, “It’s literally my second home and I love it there. I found that in recent years I tend to identify with my Japanese side more than with my American side.”

Sullivan told Swimming World Magazine, “It wasn’t until I got out of high school and I really started to crave my Asian heritage and culture, and I really honed into it. “Luckily I found a community through anime watchers, and I found my own little network that I grew to love.”

To achieve her Olympic dream, Sullivan, 20, had to overcome anxiety, panic attacks, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in the past few years after her father's death in 2017.

“I’m proud of the mental health barriers that I got through, with my dad dying in 2017 and really hitting a rock bottom in 2018 from the stress of losing a parent at age 16 and having to get over the anxiety, the panic attacks, the depression, the PTSD, all that,” Sullivan told Swimming World Magazine. “I’m so happy that I was able to overcome those.”

"The last five years, I've had a lot of struggles, and I think everyone knows that. It's pretty much (an) open book now," she said in the press conference. "But it feels good to have it all finally pay off, and I really hope I can be like a beacon of hope to anyone who's struggling with mental health or coming out or any minority that they are, to show that there's hope, and honestly me getting to do it here, where half my family is from, means the world."

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.”

Tokyo Olympics: Filipino American cyclist finishes 7th in road race

SCREEN CAPTURE

U.S. cyclist Coryn RIvera in an earlier race.

It’s been 37 years since U.S. women’s cycling won an Olympic medal in the road race. Now they will have to wait another three years to try again in Paris 2024. Expect Filipino American Coryn Rivera to be battling for a spot on Team USA.

On another hot day in Japan, the United States' top sprinter, Rivera battled to seventh place behind surprise winner Anna Kiesenhofer from Austria in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 women’s cycling road race. Rivera rode a savvy race, but the heat and  humidity got to her in the end.

CORYN RIVERA

“Obviously, not what I want, but I’ve worked hard for it,” 28-year old Rivera said after the race. “I cramped, so I gave it my all.”

She turned professional at age 16 and has amassed a total of 72 US National Championships in four different cycling disciplines; road, track, cyclocross, and mountain bike. An astonishing 72 US National titles from the beginning of her career starting in the junior category, to collegiate, to U23, and now the professional category.

Rivera's latest and most prestigious title was wining the 2018 US Pro Road Race National Championships in National, Tennessee. She has competed at the highest levels of the sport such as Elite and Junior World Championships, UCI Women's World Tour, Track World Cups, UCI Road World Cups, and Pan American Championships. And is the first ever American, Male or Female, to win the Tour of Flanders, also known as De Ronde Van Vlaanderen.

She races professionally for UCI Women's World Tour: Team Sunweb and is part of the 2017 UCI Team Time Trial World Champion Team, winning the Gold Medal with her teammates in Bergen, Norway. Off the Bike, she is an alumni of Marian University where she graduated in 2015 with a bachelors degree in business marketing with a concentration in entrepreneurship.

“I’m pretty happy with it for my first Olympics,” added the racer, a resident of Newport Beach, CA. “After everything, I can be pretty satisfied.”

Tokyo Olympics: Huge upset as tennis star Naomi Osaka defeated

Naomi Osaka is out of the Olympics.

After dominant wins in the first two rounds of Olympic tennis, Japan's Naomi Osaka was upset by the  Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova, 6-1, 6-4.

With 34 unforced errors, Osaka looked listless throughout the match, consistently missing her first serve. Osaka had trouble handling Vondrousova's left-handed returns.

The Olympics was Osaka's first tournament since she withdrew from the French Open two months ago, citing her mental health. 

"I definitely feel like there was a lot of pressure for this," Osaka said after the match. "I think it's maybe because I haven't played in the Olympics before and for the first year (it) was a bit much. I think I'm glad with how I played, with taking that break that I had."

"I feel like my attitude wasn't that great because I don't really know how to cope with that pressure so that's the best that I could have done in this situation."

By the time Vondrousova jumped to a 3-0 lead in the match's first 8 minutes, it was obvious Osaka was not at her best. At 4-0 it looked like Osaka was already looking forward to the next set.

In the second set, the 23-year old Osaka showed flashes of the player who won four Grand Slams, but by then Vondrousova had her confidence and belieivedd she could beat the No. 2 seed.

Although she was raised in the U.S. where she lives and trains, Osaka, who's father is Haitian and mother Japanese, elected to assume Japanese citizenship and play for the nation of her birth.

Last Friday, Osaka lit the Olympic torch in an emotional ceremony, her first public appearance after withdrawing from the French Open and skipping WImbledon.

After Ashleigh Barty, No. 1 seed and recent Wimbledon champion, fell in straight sets in the first round to Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo, Osaka was favored to win the gold.

Instead, Osaka will get an early start to prepare for the U.S. Open ,which will be played in September.

Naomi Osaka will leave the Tokyo 2020 Olympics without a medal, as the four-time major champion was upset in the third round Tuesday by Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.

Vondrousova, a 2019 French Open finalist, advances with the 6-1, 6-4 win.

Osaka -- who had 32 unforced errors in the match -- isn't the first big name to lose early in the women's draw. World No. 1 and Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty of Australia lost in the opening round to Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo. No. 3 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus also made an early exit, losing to Croatia's Donna Vekic in the second round.

But this upset is arguably much bigger than those. The face of these Olympics, and on her best surface, this is the first time Osaka has lost on a hard court before the quarterfinals since the 2020 Australian Open, when she lost to American Coco Gauff in the third round. All seven of Osaka's career titles have come on hard courts.

"I definitely feel like there was a lot of pressure for this," Osaka said after the match. "I think it's maybe because I haven't played in the Olympics before and for the first year (it) was a bit much. I think I'm glad with how I played, with taking that break that I had."

The Olympics was Osaka's first tournament since she withdrew from the French Open two months ago, citing her mental health.

"I've taken long breaks before and I've managed to do well," Osaka said. "I'm not saying that I did bad right now, but I do know that my expectations were a lot higher.

"I feel like my attitude wasn't that great because I don't really know how to cope with that pressure so that's the best that I could have done in this situatio

Tokyo Olympics: Afro Filiipino fighting her way to medal podium in tae kwon do

Paige McPherson represents so much and so many at the Olympics.

Going to her third Olympics, Paige McPherson’s dream is still alive and kicking

McPherson, who is of Black and Filipino descent, has one of the most compelling stories among the athletes. She is competing in tae kwan do, seeking to improve on the bronze medal she won in London in 2012. The Tokyo Olympics is the third Games in which she represented the U.S. in the ancient sport.

With a bronze medal on her Olympic resume, McPherson was expecting to medal in Rio in 2016 but, to her dismay, she lost her first match.

“It was absolutely devastating,” McPherson told the Miami Herald. McPherson, an Afro Filipino, was born in Texas and raised in South Dakota as an adoptee in a multi-racial family. “That hardship in Rio made me realize how I needed to train, both physically and mentally, which propelled me to where I am today.

“I was numb for a very long time, went into a period of depression," the 30-year old said. "You’re finally there, representing Team USA, and in the smaller sports like ours, unlike swimming, gymnastics, track and field, the only way to get recognized is if you get the gold medal or at least make the final. To dedicate your life four years, finally get that moment and lose your first fight, knowing that nobody is going to see you on TV or know who you are, it’s really hard.”

She was adopted by the McPherson's when she was only four days old. Her young birth mother from the Philippines knew she could not take care of her newborn so she opted to have her adopted.

Upon meeting her birth mother, she told McPherson that she chose the McPherson's because they promised to do everything they could to help Paige achieve her dreams. The McPhersons also had already adopted several children of different ethnic backgrounds.

Along with her birth mother, she also met half-siblings Denise and Blake.

“It was surreal to meet people that look like me, all four of us have the gap between our front teeth,” McPherson said. “I know I’m Filipino and know I’m black but to be able to meet my Mom, who is Asian, it gave me comfort in my identity. Growing up in South Dakota, I had no opportunity to get to know my culture of being Filipino or even being African American. To actually meet my mom, ... I was like, `Wow.’”

“And here I am, going to my third Olympics,” McPherson told the Herald. “I attribute this to my parents who were willing to take me in and give me everything. I also have to thank my birth Mom for choosing my parents because I wouldn’t have this life had she had not sacrificed and given me up to have a better future.”

Though she grew up “essentially in a white culture” in South Dakota without the typical links to her ethnic roots, McPherson told NBC that her parents were open about the differences among their children and celebrates them. For her, tae kwon do was something she excelled in, but also felt like “an extension of (her) family.” 

Now as an adult living in the multicultural city of Miami, she’s embraced her Filipino side wholeheartedly and credits close family friends with nurturing her connection to the culture.

As an Afro Filipino, as a woman, as a South Dakotan, as an American, McPherson represents so many people and so much more. Speaking to USA Today, McPhreson said: "I am a person of action. I usually let my actions speak louder than my words." And, so it is time.

Naomi Osaka breaks barriers as she is featured on cover of Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

 

This seems to be Naomi Osaka's year. All that's missing is an Olympic medal and that may be remedied in a few days as the Tokyo Olympics gets underway Friday, July 23.

Named Woman Athlete of the Year by ESPN last week, an essay in TIME magazine, the debut of a 3-part Netflix special and the unveiling of a Naomi-lookalike Barbie doll, Osaka is used to breaking barriers.

This week, the four-time Grand Slam champion is one of three women who graces the coveted cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit edition. Also on the covers of the magaine are rapper Megan Thee Stallioin and transgender activist Leyna Bloom. 

“There’s no question that Naomi is one of the best athletes in the world, and a cover spot felt obvious. She’s spent her formative years racking up titles and is headed to the Olympics. But we celebrate Naomi for her passion, strength and power geared towards consistently breaking barriers when it comes to equality, social justice, and mental health,” says SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day.

More pointedly, Osaka is also the first Black woman athlete picked for the SI cover, even though there have been so many Black women athletes competing in any number of sports. 

"I wouldn't have thought that I would have been the first one," Osaka said of being the first Black female athlete on a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover in a video interview with Tyra Banks that accompanied the issue. Banks was the first Black woman to star on the cover of the magazine alone.

"I'm glad that this barrier is being broken," Osaka told Banks.

"I hope there are many, many more people to come and I'm sure there are going to be," said Osaka, who will be playing for Japan, where she was born, in the Olympics.

"I'm so proud to be the first Japanese and Haitian woman to grace one of the covers. I feel like that multi-cultural background is present in all of the things that I do. I try to incorporate it in everything, so hopefully, you see that," Osaka said in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. "My memories [of the magazine] kind of involves the people that I grew up admiring, so I remember Tyra Banks's issue, I remember Beyonce's. Just growing up and watching so many incredible women grace this cover, for me, it feels like a dream."

"For me, I feel like I've always been one to not want to use my voice" she continued in the video. "but then I feel like there's also a lot of things that have happened and over the past year I just feel like there has to be someone that speaks about uncomfortable things."

For the shoot, Asian American photographer Yu Tsai took photos of Osaka in Malibu, Calif. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition hits the stands on July 22, a day before the Olympics' opening ceremonies and Osaka begins her quest for an Olympic medal.