SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - An Olympian who will compete in this year’s games in Tokyo is training in South Florida ahead of the summer games.
Paige McPherson hopes her trip to southern Japan will end up with her bringing home a gold medal once the games begin on July 23.
“I think it will hit me when I actually get to Tokyo, but it’s just a blessing doing what I love,” McPherson said.
For the past 12 years, the 30-year-old has punched and kicked her way to the top of taekwondo, as she will head to her third consecutive Olympic games this year. She received the bronze medal in taekwondo during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
“Paige is a special individual,” U.S. taekwondo coach Juan Moreno said. “I mean, obviously, her accomplishments on the mat speak for themselves. Going to three Olympic games is not an easy feat for anybody in any sport.”
According to McPherson, being a world-class athlete requires standing out from the other athletes, and she dreams of wearing the gold medal around her neck in Tokyo.
“Throughout the years, it’s just the amount of dedication and also love for it and joy involved immensely,” she said. “The gold medal is something that I’ve been striving throughout my career. My perspective is a little bit different this time.”
“She’s approaching 10 years since her first Olympic games medal,” Moreno said. “You don’t see that again in many sports, especially in fight sports.”
McPherson said as the games approach, her training intensity will increase.
“This is the last stretch of the race, and so even my mentality, the way I go about day-to-day activities, I’m a little bit more quiet and reserved,” she said. “I’m more focused because this is the feeling that I’ve been grinding for for the last five years.”
Taekwondo events during the Summer Olympics will begin on July 24.
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