Philadelphia-trained judo star Maria Liana Mutia, a two-time Pan American champion and two-time world medalist, is aiming for gold at the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in Paris, write Nathaly Suquinagua and Sarah Frasca for Billy Penn at WHYY.

Mutia, who is also a tech whiz and works as a consultant for Comcast’s accessibility team, started to pursue judo for health reasons. But by the time she was 17, she had started to take martial arts seriously. Around that same time, she completely lost her vision.

She was forced to learn once again both how to be a functional human being and how to compete in judo. To achieve this, she learned to latch onto her other senses, such as touch.

“You’re trying to push and pull people in certain ways and turn them and so that’s really how touch can come in,” said Lori Latimer, Mutia’s judo training partner. “Because Liana can’t see, but she can feel what you’re doing.”

Within a year, she was accepted as a full-time student at Colorado State University, earned an internship, and then competed in the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Her determination has paved the way for many wins and titles, and now she wants more.

Read more about Maria Liana Mutia’s quest for gold in Billy Penn at WHYY.

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