Noted: When she heard the news, Caitlin Yang, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, took a moment and let the wave of emotion wash over her, alone in her apartment.
Yang, a rising junior and member of the Hmong American Student Association, said Lee’s victory showed that Hmong women could break down gender barriers and defy norms in a culture where parents don’t normally place much importance on athletic achievement.
She hoped Lee’s victory would empower women to “find who they are and what they are capable of and know that they are capable of it,” she said.