8 AANHPI Athletes You Need to Know

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is a powerful time to recognize the remarkable contributions of AANHPI women in sports. These eight athletes are breaking barriers, setting records, and inspiring countless others – on the field, in the arena, and far beyond.

Caprice Dydasco ⚽

Team: Bay FC
Instagram:
@capricedydasco

Caprice Dydasco stands as one of soccer’s most accomplished defenders, having been named NWSL Defender of the Year in 2021, surpassing 10,000 NWSL minutes played (32nd player ever to achieve this), and helping UCLA win its first NCAA Championship in 2013. Dydasco has played for top NWSL clubs, including the Washington Spirit, NJ/NY Gotham FC, and Houston Dash, before joining Bay FC as their historic second-ever signing and first free-agent acquisition.

Off the field, Dydasco is a proud representative of her diverse cultural background, embracing her Guamanian, Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean heritage. Originally from Honolulu, Hawai'i, she continues to break barriers and pave the way for the next generation of athletes in professional soccer.

Justine Wong-Orantes 🏐

Team: LOVB Omaha

Instagram: @jwongorantes

Justine Wong-Orantes has an exceptional volleyball resume, including leading the U.S. Women's National Team to its first-ever Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020, where she earned Best Libero honors, followed by a silver medal at Paris 2024. The talented libero has also captured two Volleyball Nations League titles with Team USA and was named Best Libero at the 2021 tournament. During her college career at the University of Nebraska, Wong-Orantes helped the Cornhuskers claim the 2015 national championship.

Volleyball runs in the family for the Southern California native, with her parents Robbie Orantes and Winnie Wong both playing the sport and inspiring their daughter from an early age. She proudly represents her multicultural heritage, with Filipino-Chinese roots on her mother's side and Mexican heritage from her father.

Caprice Dydasco ⚽

Team: Bay FC
Instagram:
@capricedydasco

Caprice Dydasco stands as one of soccer’s most accomplished defenders, having been named NWSL Defender of the Year in 2021, surpassing 10,000 NWSL minutes played (32nd player ever to achieve this), and helping UCLA win its first NCAA Championship in 2013. Dydasco has played for top NWSL clubs, including the Washington Spirit, NJ/NY Gotham FC, and Houston Dash, before joining Bay FC as their historic second-ever signing and first free-agent acquisition.

Off the field, Dydasco is a proud representative of her diverse cultural background, embracing her Guamanian, Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean heritage. Originally from Honolulu, Hawai'i, she continues to break barriers and pave the way for the next generation of athletes in professional soccer.

Justine Wong-Orantes 🏐

Team: LOVB Omaha

Instagram: @jwongorantes

Justine Wong-Orantes has an exceptional volleyball resume, including leading the U.S. Women's National Team to its first-ever Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020, where she earned Best Libero honors, followed by a silver medal at Paris 2024. The talented libero has also captured two Volleyball Nations League titles with Team USA and was named Best Libero at the 2021 tournament. During her college career at the University of Nebraska, Wong-Orantes helped the Cornhuskers claim the 2015 national championship.

Volleyball runs in the family for the Southern California native, with her parents Robbie Orantes and Winnie Wong both playing the sport and inspiring their daughter from an early age. She proudly represents her multicultural heritage, with Filipino-Chinese roots on her mother's side and Mexican heritage from her father.

Filomenaleonisa Iakopo 🏟️

Sport: Track and Field (Sprinter)

Instagram: @unguinaiya

Filomenaleonisa Iakopo is a record-breaking sprinter and the first athlete from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to compete in the Summer Olympics. She broke national records for American Samoa in both the 100m and 200m sprints. Her talent on the track led to her qualification for the 2024 Games, where she was American Samoa’s Closing Ceremony flagbearer.

Raised in the CNMI and of both Samoan and Chamorro descent, Iakopo carries her heritage with deep pride. “I am extremely grateful that I am not only Chamorro but I am also Samoan, and I am equally proud to carry both cultures,” she said. “Who I am is deeply rooted in being both, being Chamorro and Samoan.” Though she wasn’t able to compete under the CNMI flag, Iakopo sees her Olympic journey as a shared victory. “My accomplishment of competing in the Olympics does not only belong to me but to everyone in the CNMI,” she said, “It's a chance to showcase the talent and determination of Pacific Islanders on a global stage, and I am deeply proud to carry the hopes and dreams with me."

Rose Zhang ⛳

Sport: Golf

Instagram: @rosezhang

Rose Zhang dominated amateur golf at Stanford University, winning 12 of 20 college tournaments and becoming the first golfer to capture consecutive NCAA individual titles. She held the No. 1 position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a record 141 consecutive weeks and won the 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur and 2023 Augusta National Women's Amateur. In May 2023, nine days after turning professional, she made history by winning the Mizuho Americas Open, becoming the first woman since 1951 to win an LPGA Tour event in her professional debut.

Born in 2003 in Arcadia, California, Zhang is the daughter of Chinese immigrants Haibin Zhang and Li Cai from Shenyang. Her father is a major influence and frequent caddie throughout her career, including during her victory at the Augusta National.

Filomenaleonisa Iakopo 🏟️

Sport: Track and Field (Sprinter)

Instagram: @unguinaiya

Filomenaleonisa Iakopo is a record-breaking sprinter and the first athlete from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to compete in the Summer Olympics. She broke national records for American Samoa in both the 100m and 200m sprints. Her talent on the track led to her qualification for the 2024 Games, where she was American Samoa’s Closing Ceremony flagbearer.

Raised in the CNMI and of both Samoan and Chamorro descent, Iakopo carries her heritage with deep pride. “I am extremely grateful that I am not only Chamorro but I am also Samoan, and I am equally proud to carry both cultures,” she said. “Who I am is deeply rooted in being both, being Chamorro and Samoan.” Though she wasn’t able to compete under the CNMI flag, Iakopo sees her Olympic journey as a shared victory. “My accomplishment of competing in the Olympics does not only belong to me but to everyone in the CNMI,” she said, “It's a chance to showcase the talent and determination of Pacific Islanders on a global stage, and I am deeply proud to carry the hopes and dreams with me."

Rose Zhang ⛳

Sport: Golf

Instagram: @rosezhang

Rose Zhang dominated amateur golf at Stanford University, winning 12 of 20 college tournaments and becoming the first golfer to capture consecutive NCAA individual titles. She held the No. 1 position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a record 141 consecutive weeks and won the 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur and 2023 Augusta National Women's Amateur. In May 2023, nine days after turning professional, she made history by winning the Mizuho Americas Open, becoming the first woman since 1951 to win an LPGA Tour event in her professional debut.

Born in 2003 in Arcadia, California, Zhang is the daughter of Chinese immigrants Haibin Zhang and Li Cai from Shenyang. Her father is a major influence and frequent caddie throughout her career, including during her victory at the Augusta National.

Chloe Kim 🏔️

Sport: Snowboarding

Instagram: @chloekim

TOGETHXR co-founder Chloe Kim is one of snowboarding's greatest athletes, dominating halfpipe competition with record-breaking achievements. At 14, she became the youngest-ever X Games title winner, launching a career that now spans six Winter X Games titles, two halfpipe world championships, and becoming the first female snowboarder to land back-to-back 1080s. At PyeongChang 2018, she won Olympic gold with a remarkable 98.25 points, becoming the youngest halfpipe Olympic gold medalist and the first athlete to win all four major snowboarding titles: the Olympics, World Championships, Youth Olympics, and X Games.

Born in Torrance, California, to Korean immigrant parents Boran Kim and Jong Jin, Kim represents Team USA while embracing her Korean-American heritage.

Taina Tukuafu 🏉

Team: WER Bay Breakers

Instagram: @taynuhh

Taina Tukuafu is a rising force in American rugby, currently playing scrumhalf for the USA Women’s Eagles and club with the Bay Breakers. Tukuafu won a D1 Elite National Championship in college with Lindenwood University and was named a Collegiate All-American. After playing across the U18, U20, and U23 programs, she made her senior debut in July 2023 during the Pacific Four Series against Australia.

Tukuafu was born and raised in Hawai'i, first playing rugby at Kahuku High School in Oahu.

Chloe Kim 🏔️

Sport: Snowboarding

Instagram: @chloekim

TOGETHXR co-founder Chloe Kim is one of snowboarding's greatest athletes, dominating halfpipe competition with record-breaking achievements. At 14, she became the youngest-ever X Games title winner, launching a career that now spans six Winter X Games titles, two halfpipe world championships, and becoming the first female snowboarder to land back-to-back 1080s. At PyeongChang 2018, she won Olympic gold with a remarkable 98.25 points, becoming the youngest halfpipe Olympic gold medalist and the first athlete to win all four major snowboarding titles: the Olympics, World Championships, Youth Olympics, and X Games.

Born in Torrance, California, to Korean immigrant parents Boran Kim and Jong Jin, Kim represents Team USA while embracing her Korean-American heritage.

Taina Tukuafu 🏉

Team: WER Bay Breakers

Instagram: @taynuhh

Taina Tukuafu is a rising force in American rugby, currently playing scrumhalf for the USA Women’s Eagles and club with the Bay Breakers. Tukuafu won a D1 Elite National Championship in college with Lindenwood University and was named a Collegiate All-American. After playing across the U18, U20, and U23 programs, she made her senior debut in July 2023 during the Pacific Four Series against Australia.

Tukuafu was born and raised in Hawai'i, first playing rugby at Kahuku High School in Oahu.

Te-Hina Paopao 🏀

Team: Atlanta Dream

Instagram: @tehinapaopao

Te-Hina Paopao made history as the first person of Tokelauan heritage to be drafted into the WNBA, picked eighteenth overall by the Atlanta Dream. Raised in Oceanside, California, Paopao established herself as a standout guard at the University of Oregon before transferring to South Carolina, where she helped lead the Gamecocks to an undefeated national championship season in 2024 and finished as the nation's top three-point shooter. Paopao celebrated the WNBA draft at home, surrounded by family, adorned in flower garlands and a crown, wearing a puletasi —a Samoan traditional dress — matching her siblings and parents.

Being Tokelauan and Samoan, Paopao proudly carries her heritage into every room she steps into. “At such a young age, I didn’t really have that Polynesian hooper that I really looked up to, especially female,” she said. “I really wanna be that inspiration for younger girls.”

Alysa Liu ⛸️

Sport: Figure Skating

Instagram: @alysaxliu

Alysa Liu made a triumphant return to figure skating, becoming the first American woman since 2006 to win a world title. Liu was the youngest U.S. national champion at just 13, and was the first American woman to land a quadruple lutz in competition. She also made history as the first woman to ever land a quad lutz and triple axel in the same program. After competing in the Beijing Olympics and winning a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships, Liu shocked the skating world by retiring at 16. Away from the sport, she spent time with family and friends, enrolled at UCLA, and even joined a trek to the base camp of Mount Everest. Now, she has returned to the sport with a newfound joy and perspective, and has set her sights on Milano Cortina 2026.

Liu is of Chinese-American descent through her father, who immigrated to the United States from China and raised Liu and her four siblings as a single parent. After years of competition and sacrifice, Liu’s time away from the sport helped her reconnect with her family, making memories with her siblings and going on their first vacation together.

Te-Hina Paopao 🏀

Team: Atlanta Dream

Instagram: @tehinapaopao

Te-Hina Paopao made history as the first person of Tokelauan heritage to be drafted into the WNBA, picked eighteenth overall by the Atlanta Dream. Raised in Oceanside, California, Paopao established herself as a standout guard at the University of Oregon before transferring to South Carolina, where she helped lead the Gamecocks to an undefeated national championship season in 2024 and finished as the nation's top three-point shooter. Paopao celebrated the WNBA draft at home, surrounded by family, adorned in flower garlands and a crown, wearing a puletasi —a Samoan traditional dress — matching her siblings and parents.

Being Tokelauan and Samoan, Paopao proudly carries her heritage into every room she steps into. “At such a young age, I didn’t really have that Polynesian hooper that I really looked up to, especially female,” she said. “I really wanna be that inspiration for younger girls.”

Alysa Liu ⛸️

Sport: Figure Skating

Instagram: @alysaxliu

Alysa Liu made a triumphant return to figure skating, becoming the first American woman since 2006 to win a world title. Liu was the youngest U.S. national champion at just 13, and was the first American woman to land a quadruple lutz in competition. She also made history as the first woman to ever land a quad lutz and triple axel in the same program. After competing in the Beijing Olympics and winning a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships, Liu shocked the skating world by retiring at 16. Away from the sport, she spent time with family and friends, enrolled at UCLA, and even joined a trek to the base camp of Mount Everest. Now, she has returned to the sport with a newfound joy and perspective, and has set her sights on Milano Cortina 2026.

Liu is of Chinese-American descent through her father, who immigrated to the United States from China and raised Liu and her four siblings as a single parent. After years of competition and sacrifice, Liu’s time away from the sport helped her reconnect with her family, making memories with her siblings and going on their first vacation together.